
Qass 
Book. 



i . ^^ w. 



n u. i 



A 



COMPENIL^F HISTORY, 




EARLIEST TIM^S ; 

COMPREHENDING A GENERAL VIEW OF THE 



PRESEjyr STJITE OF THE WORLD^ 

WITH RESPECT TO 

CIVILIZATION, RELIGION, AND GOVERNMENT ^ 

ANI» 

A BRIEF DISSEUTJiTIOJ^ 

ON TBLB 

IMPORTANCE OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE. 



BY SAMUEL WHELPLEY, A. M. 

Principal of the Newark Academy. 



FIFTH EDiriON, WIVH COIiRECriONSf 

BY REV. JOSEPH EMERSON, 

Principal of the Byfield Seminary. 



TWO VOLUMES m OKE. 
VOL. I. 



BOSTOJST: 

PUBLISHED BY RICHARDSON & LORD, 

J. H. A. Frost, Printer, Congresi-street. 

182L 



DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, to wit: 

District Clerk's Office, 

BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twenty-third day of May, 
A. D. 1820, in the Forty-fourth Year of the Independence of the 
United States of America, West, Richardson & Lord, of the 
said District, have deposited in this Office the Title of a Book the 
Right whereof they claim as Proprietors in the Words following, 
to wit : 

*' A Compend of History, from the earliest times ; comprehend- 
ing a General View of the Present State of the World, with re- 
spect to Civilization, Religion and Government; and a Brie. 
Dissertation on the Importance of Historical Knowledge. By 
Samuel Whelpley, A. M. Principal of the Newark Academy. 
Fourth Edition, with Corrections, By Rev. Joseph EMERSorr, 
Principal of the Byfield Seminary. Two Volumes in one. Vol. I." 

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, 
entitled, " An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by secur- 
ing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and 
Proprietors of such Copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" 
and also to an Act entitled, " An Act supplementary to an Act, 
entitled. An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing 
the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Pro- 
prietors of such Copies during the times therein mentioned ; and 
extending the Benefits thereof to the Arts of Designing, Engraving 
and Etching Historical, and other Prints.'' 

JOHN W. DAVIS, 

Clerk of the District of Massachusetts. 



Tranaf ©r 



TO THE 

BEV, SAMUEL MILLER, D. D. 

ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN 
CHURCHES IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, &C. &C. 

REVEREND SIR, 

WITH little more claim on you than what the mass 
of society have on the benevolent notice of the learned, 
the wise, and the good, I have presumed to inscribe to 
yo^ the following compend of history; the chief merit 
of which, I am highly sensible, must consist much in 
the motive of the author. Destined by Providence to 
be entrusted with the education of youth, I have long 
regarded it as an important enquiry, what branches of 
knowledge and what modes of instruction are best calcu- 
lated to benefit the young mind — what objects will be 
most likely to arrest the attention, enlarge the under- 
standing, strengthen the memory, and promote virtuous 
dispositions. 

Whilst, on the one hand, I have not the vanity to think 
that I have made any important discoveries in this 
inquiry ; so, neither am I discouraged, on the other, by 
the reflection that the wise and learned in every age 
have been more or less engaged in the same inquiry. If 
the lapse of ages has corrected the errors of Lycurgus, 
Solon, and Aristotle, it is presumed that the most approved 
systems of the present day, having endured a similar test, 
will also be found defective. 

The study of history is too much neglected in our 
present course of education; and I am strongly impressed 
with the belief that children may lay a broad foundation 
for historical knowledge, while learning to read, and may 
become very generally acquainted with history, merely 
in a common course of school reading. 

No species of instruction so easily or so deeply imprints 
itself on the memory of youth, as that which is clothed 
in simple narration and description ; especially if that 



JV DEDICATION. 

narration convey interesting facts — and if that description 
engage and delight the imagination. It has often been 
observed, that an early taste for reading is likely to 
enkindle in the mind a desire for general improvement ; 
and, if I may be allowed to appeal to my own experience, 
the reading of history was the first thing which awakened 
in me a desire to study the sciences. 

With these views, Reverend Sir, 1 have been induced 
to publish the following Compend. I have often found 
myself embarrassed, in passing through so wide a field — 
with such rapidity. A selection and arrangement were 
desired that would mark an unbroken line, and give the 
reader a just, general and connected impression. How 
far I have succeeded in the attempt the reader must 
judge. Had I more leisure, or a better judgment, the 
work would have been more correct- But, as it is, I 
hope it will answer the purpose for which it is designed, 
and, especially, that it may be so fortunate as to gain the 
sanction of your approbation. 

While modesty forbids me to say many things, which 
the voice of sincerity would prompt, I deem it but just to 
declare, that as far as dedication may be regarded as a 
mark of high personal respect — as far as presuming on 
the benevolent patronage of men of learning and talents 
is ever safe — and as far as a writer may hope to benefit 
his production by inscribing it to a name which must long 
adorn the temple of science — so far 1 felicitate myself on 
this occasion : 

And am, Reverend Sir, 

rrith the highest esteem and consideration, 

your most obedient 

and very humble servant, 

SAMUEL WHELPLEV. 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

IT has been objected to Compends of history, that 
they are dry, uninteresting and tedious. By most of 
them, this censure is undoubtedly deserved ; and justly 
charges them with a fault of no ordinary magnitude. 
This is a fault, which must almost entirely exclude them 
from being used, except by those, to whom, lesson by 
lesson, they are assigned, as tasks — as tasks by no means 
delightful. And when we consider, that it should be a 
grand and leading object in education to fix the thought, 
to wake the slumbering energies of the soul, to unfold 
the faculties, and kindle a thirst for knowledge, we can 
hardly suppose, that such dreary tasks will be found very 
useful. 

From the charge of dulness, however, it is confidently 
hoped, that this Compend will be forever exempted. It 
is found to be exceedingly interesting both to the begin- 
ner, and to the proficient in history. Even after the 
second and third reading, it still continues to charm. Much 
of it is written with a pathos and energy, that would not 
have disgraced the pen of Chatham. 

But this is not its only excellence. The facts are well 
selected, and, in general, well arranged. We have most 
to regret, that the work is so short. 

To deny that this Compend has imperfections, would 
be to make it more than human. The most indifferent 
paits are unquestionably the first, second, third and last 
chapters. These are rather appendages to history, than 
?i part of history itself. In these, the author appears to 
have fallen far below himself. It would be taking too 
great a liberty, however . to expunge them ; or to attempt 
to supply their place with any thing better. Nor does 

1* 



n PREFACE. 

the editor feel at liberty to transpose them ; though it 
may be best for the learner to begin with the last chap- 
ter, and conclude with the three first. 

It is hoped, that the value of this edition is considera- 
bly enhanced — -that it will be found much more correct 
in various respects, than preceding editions. A few sen- 
tences have been omitted, as unimportant. The great- 
est liberty has been taken with the Chronological Tables 
as not being of Mr. Whelpley's composition. Several of 
them, which were conjectural, or of little importance to 
us, have been omitted. Much time has been spent to 
render the rest as correct, as possible. 

It is hoped the notes will be found both interesting and 
useful. 

Method of teaching the following Compend. 

1. Let the pupil read over the lesson assigned, to gain 
a general idea of the connexion. As he proceeds, let 
him carefully consult his dictionary and maps, as far as 
may be needful, in order to understand the words of the 
author and the situation of places mentioned. 

2. Let the pupil read over the lesson in connexion 
with the printed questions, marking the answers, as he 
proceeds. 

3. Let him commit the answers to memory. Let him 
be particularly careful to read and think them over delib- 
erately and under standingly^ that he may be able to repeat 
them with propriety. 

4. Let two pupils ask each other the questions. 

5. Let the pupil read over the lesson once more, to f3x 
the connexion more perfectly in his mind, and to prepare 
to answer whatever questions the teacher may propose. 

6. LeT'the pupil be required to answer not only all the 
printed questions, but such others, as th^ instructor may 
deem important. 



PREFACE. Vll 

7. Let the pupil be required to recite his lesson with 
the greatest possible propriety, as it respects delibera- 
tion, pauses, emphasis, cadence, &c. By this means he 
may be constantly advancing" in the important art of read- 
ing. The indistinct, confused, monotonous, hurrying" 
manner, in which scholars are often allowed to recite, 
can hardly fail to mjure their reading. 

8. The more difficult questions, especially such as are 
addressed to the judgment, rather than to the memory^ 
may be addressed to the class generally, that any one 
may answer them, who may be able. 

9. The instructor may find it very useful to intersperse 
or add a considerable number of observations, to explain, 
illustrate, confirm, or enforce the most important parts of 
the lesson. 

10. Let the exercise at the end of each week be a re- 
view. If the scholars are sufficiently forward in writing, 
&,c. it may be very useful for them to recite their review- 
lessons to each other. 

11. It may be useful for the instructor to ask miscella- 
neous questions, relating to any part of history, that the 
pupil has studied, such as. Who was Ninyas ? Who was 
Sennacherib ? Who were the Scythians ? In what were 
the Persians superior to the Greeks ? In what were the 
Romans superior to the Greeks ? &c. 

If the special efforts, that have now been made for the 
improvement of this excellent Compend, should prove 
instrumental of extending the noble and delightful study 
©f history, of promoting a taste for literature in general, 
and of leading the minds of youth to a devout acknowl- 
edgment of HIM who rules in the kingdoms of men, it 
will afford the editor his richest reward, for all the toil 
of correction. 

JOSEPH EMERSON. 

By fields May \, 1820. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

VOL. I. 

CHAPTER I. Page 
THE Credibility of the Mosaic History 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Causes which have operated to plunge Ancient 
History into darkness « ...^.... 28 

CHAPTER III. 
Sources whence the knowledge of Ancient History 
is drawn .• 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

Brief Historical View of the Assyrian Empire, from 
its foundation to the reign of Ninyas ,. 39 

CHAPTER V. 

of the Assyrian Empire, from 

the reign of Ninyas to the fall of Nineveh 45 

CHAPTER VI. 

• of the Assyrian Empire, from 

the destruction of Nineveh to the taking of Baby- 
lon by Cyrus 51 

CHAPTER VII. 

of the Persian Empire, from 

its foundation to the birth of Cyrus » 65 

CHAPTER VIII. 

of the Persian Empire, from 

the birth of Cyrus to the conquest of the Lesser 

a\sia...» r 601 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. Page 

Brief Historical View of the Persian Empire, from 
the reduction of Asia Minor, by Cyrus, till its 
subversion by Alexander 67 

CHAPTER X. 

-of Ancient Greece, from the 



earliest times to the legislation of Lycurgus 78 

CHAPTER XI. 
•of Ancient Greece, from the 



legislation of Lycurgus till the issue of the Per- 
sian Invasion.... ^9 

CHAPTER XII. 
-of Ancient Greece, from the 



Persian Invasion till the death of Alexander the 
Great 103 

CHAPTER XIII. 

-of Alexander's Empire, from 



his death till its subjugation by the Romans 13G 

CHAPTER XIV. 

-of the Roman Empire, from 



the founding of Rome by Romulus to the expul- 
sion of Tarquin the Proud ; containing a period 
of 245 years 149^ 

CHAPTER XV. 
■of the Roman Empire, from 



the expulsion of Tarquin to the conquest of Car- 
thage 15S 

CHAPTER XVI. 



-of the Roman Empire, from 



the fall of Carthage to the reign of Commodus ; 
containing a period of 312 years... ....„ 187- 



CONTENTS. 311 

CHAPTER XVII. Page 

Creneral Observations on the Roman History, from 
the accession of Augustus to the death of Marcus 
Aurelius 207 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Brief Historical View of the Roman Empire, from 
the reign of Commodus to the extinction of the 
Western Empire, under Augustulus; containing 
a period of 283 years 215 

CHAPTER XIX. 

-of the course of Empire, from 



the fall of Rome to the establishment of the Em- 
pire of Charlemagne ; containing a period of 
324 years 225 



HISTORICAL COMPENl). 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

THE CREDIBILITY OF THE MOSAIC HISTORY. 

THAT the existence of the human race, has no 
rational claim to a higher antiquity, than is allowed 
in the Mosaic history, may be argued from two 
considerations: 1. The total want of evidence of a 
higher antiquity. 2. Various evidences, that the 
scripture chronology is correct. 

1 . There is a total want of evidence of higher an- 
tiquity. 

Had the world existed from eternity, and man 
passed through an eternal series of generations, it is 
highly probable, that numerous evidences would 
exist, of periods more distant than six thousand years. 

It is a thing incredible, that no traces of a much 
higher antiquity, should have been discovered by the 
Greeks, Egyptians or Chaldeans : yet they fixed the 
origin of the human race at no distant period ; and 
as we shall state hereafter, it is within the limits of 
scripture chronology. 

The pretended antiquity of the Chinese and In- 
dians, is found, upon the most strict and impartial ex- 
amination, to be void of credibility. Their records 
are incorrect, fabulous, and made up of parts, incom- 
patible with each other. 

The grand annals of China are contained in six 
hundred and sixty-eight volumes, of which a copy is 
in France. This is abridged in a hundred volunies ; 



14 THE CREDIBILITY OF 

from which the Abbe Grosier has extracted a work 
of twelve volumes, comprising a history of China. 
From these records, it appears that that empire must 
have originated a short time prior to the reign of 
Yao, which was 2057 years before Christ : of course 
near the time that Ninus founded the Assyrian 
empire. This statement is confirmed, not only by 
all Europeans, whose knowledge of the Chinese 
language has enabled them to examine those records, 
but by several learned Chinese, who have studied 
the languages of Europe : and this statement also 
corroborates the opinion, that Noah himself, or one 
of his sons, founded that empire. It appears pro- 
bable, from the general current of oriental tradition, 
that Noah left the general settlement, and emi- 
grated eastward, where his posterity afterwards 
founded the Chinese monarchy, as we shall here- 
after more particularly notice. 

2. To these considerations we may add, that there 
are various evidences of the correctness of scripture 
chronology. 

As there exists no evidence of a higher antiquity, 
so neither is it possible to fix the creation of the 
world, and the origin of the human race, in a much 
later period. The history and chronology of the 
Bible are liable to no charge of inconsistency. The 
facts corisidered in detail, or in the aggregate, want 
none of the genuine characters of true and impartial 
history. When we com.e to consider the sources, 
whence the knowledge of ancient history is drawn, 
we shall see, that they uniformly increase the 
authority, by corroborating the facts of the sacred 
history. 

That matter was coeval with God, and indepen- 
dent of him, is more difficult to reconcile to the 
dictates of reason, or to the phenomena of nature, 
than the doctrine of creation and providence, as laid 
down in the books of Moses, if it be most easy and 
rational to believe wliat is most evident, and ii' 



THE MOSAIC HISTORY. 15 

wisdom and goodness are displayed in the works of 
nature, and throughout all the visible creation, then 
to abstain from believing, will be to follow the 
weaker, instead of the stronger reason. Those, 
therefore, who reject the latter and embrace the 
former scheme, are more worthy of the charge of 
credulity, than those on whom they bestow it. 

Neither Cicero nor Plato had any knowledge of 
antiquity, inconsistent with the Mosaic account of 
the creation ; indeed, as we extend our inquiries 
back into ancient ages, we evidently see all the rays 
of light converging to one point ; beyond Vv hich, 
little is conjectured — nothing is evident. 

The account of the deluge, may be considered, 
as the most prominent feature of the first book of 
Moses. This article of the Bible history is made 
both the subject of cavil and ridicule by unbeliev- 
ers, as a thing incredible and absurd. This tliey 
commonly do upon the ground of its being a mere 
matter of revelation ! The evidences on which 
its credihility rests, are by no means so generally 
known as the importance of the thing seems to de- 
mand. 

We shall briefly state the evidences in proof of 
the truth of this article. 

1. Were it regarded merely as a matter of reve- 
lation, as the objection imports, still it challenges 
belief. As such, it must be considered as part of a 
system of truth, which in the sum, and in all its 
parts, is infallible. The history written by Moses, 
contains nothing, but what might be looked for in 
the dictates of a Being of infinite wisdom. His laws 
can in no instance be taxed with injustice, nor his 
assertions with falsehood. 

The character, which Moses ascribes to God, 
as far transcends any thing found in the heathen 
writers, as the God of the universe is more glorious 
than an idol. Among the things written by Moses, 
the character of God, the origin of the universe, the 



16 THE CREDIBILITY OP 

perfect standard of morality, the maxims of civil 
policy, and the excellent code of laws, were all far 
beyond the reach of human wisdom. 

This remark is so certainly true, that among all 
the productions of mortal men since his time, none 
have come within an infinite distance of him, but 
such as have copied from his originals, or drawn 
from the same fountain of inspiration. 

Why then should we disbelieve his history ? It 
states things, which, if they cannot in every instance 
be proved, can in no instance, be disproved — facts, 
which the whole current of universal testimony 
corroborates. Hence, if the certainty of the deluge 
rested wholly on the authority of revelation, it would 
need no better support. So far is that from being 
the case, that, in fact, no event is more strongly 
attested or sustained by the belief of all the ancient 
nations, as wesliall presently state. 

2. The geography of the earth affords several 
strong proofs of a universal deluge. The produc- 
tions of the sea are found in the most inland parts, 
not only on the earth's sui-face, but even deep in its 
bowels ; and not only in valleys and plains, but in 
hills and mountains. These productions are found in 
such quantities, as not to be accounted for by any 
slight or partial cause, and in such a state as denotes 
them to have been deposited there for many ages. 

Had there ever been such a deluge, as Moses 
describes, such appearances, as are now observed, 
must have followed. Marine productions must have 
been w^ashed up on the land, and in many places 
mingled with it. In one eminent instance then, 
it must be allowed that the phenomena of nature 
contirm the truth of the Mosaic history, and that too 
in an article thought by some the most doubtful. 
We need inquire for but one cause for one effect, 
and certainly the universal diffusion of marine pro- 
ductions, can onlv be accounted for, by supposing 
that the ocean once covered the earth. 



THE MOSAIC HISTORY. IJ 

The configuration of the surface of the earth ; 
the positions of hills, mountains, valleys and plains, 
seem to denote some ancient war of elements. They 
are, generally speaking, so situated and fashioned, 
as might be expected from the whirlpools, currents, 
and eddies of the retiring flood, and can only be 
accounted for as effects of the deluge. 

3. The belief of all the ancient nations, and the 
testimonies of many writers of antiquity, confirm 
Moses' account of the deluge, and shew, that no 
article of ancient history is better supported. Wc 
shall here state a few authorities on this subject. 

1. The first authority, among the heathen writers, 
is that of Berosus the Chaldean. From his testimo- 
ny we may learn the opinion of the Chaldeans re- 
specting the flood. If we change the name of Noah 
for that of Xisuthrus, it will appear that Berosus has 
the whole history of the deluge complete. Berosus 
says, " that very anciently the gods being greatly of- 
fended at the wickedness of the human race, foretold 
to Xisuthrus that they intended to destroy the world 
by a deluge. Xisuthrus immediately set about build- 
ing a ship of very great dimensions. After many 
years, a prodigious vessel was constructed, and Xisu- 
thrus with his family entered into it, with a multitude 
of creatures, which were to be preserved. 

" The flood then came ; the face of the whole earth 
was covered ; and the vessel which carried the only 
surviving family of the human race, was buoyed up, 
and floated on the boundless deluge. The waters at 
length abated, and the ship chanced to land on a 
mountain in Armenia, called Ararat." The same 
author says, that nigh to his own times, *' large pieces 
of timber were still seen on those mountains, ujiiver- 
sally supposed to be pieces of the ship of Xisuthrus.*' 

Many other Chaldean writers mention the same 

things: so that the belief of the Chaldeans in the 

deluge, rests on the nuost unquestionable authorities. 

Moreover, the certainty, that they did believe in it, 

2* 



18 THE CREDIBILITY Of 

is a consideralion of great weight ; for Nimrod found- 
ed their empire hut a short time after the deluge ; 
and they, of all the ancient nations, were the most 
likely to have correct information, as far as depended 
on tradition. 

2. The second authority we shall mention, is Ovid, 
a writer of the Augustan age. He relates the story, 
though with ditTerent names, much in the same way: 
He says, that ^' the gods, to punish the wickedness of 
man, destroyed the earth with a deluge. The de- 
struction was so complete, that only Deucalion and 
Pyrrha escaped to the top of mount Parnassus." 

3. Varro, the most learned man the Roman state 
produced, is full to our purpose. Varro says, that 
'^ in ancient times, there was a universal deluge, in 
which the human race were nearly all destroyed." 
He says, that Hood took place ICOO ^ears he fore the 
first Olympiad. Now it is known, that the first Olym- 
piad took place 771 years before Christ. This ac- 
count admirably corresponds with the scripture chro- 
nology ; for IGOO added to 77 2, makes 2371 ; wliere- 
as the Mosaic chronology places the flood 2340 years 
before Christ, a diirerence of only twenty-three years 
in a range of time so long. \\ hen we consider the 
erudition of Varro, and that his chronology was 
drawn from the Greeks and Egyptians, and came 
through a different channel from that of the scripture, 
we may well be astonished at tliis coincidence, and 
can have no rational doubt of the correctness of the 
facts in question. 

4. Seneca, the celebrated Roman philosopher and 
historian, is very particular on the subject of the 
deluge. He not only says the same things as the 
above cited authors, but goes much further into the 
subject, assigning what were the probable causes of 
the flood. He moreover says, that as the world has 
once been destroyed by water, so it shall again be 
destroyed by fire, and like a philosopher, proceeds 
to account for the possibility, and even probability, 
©f such an event. 



THE MOSAIC HISTORV. 19 

6. Few men were more extensively read, or deep- 
ly learned in history, than Josephus, the Jewish his- 
torian. He affirms, that we read of the deluge and 
the ark in the writings of all the barbarian historians ; 
and that all the eastern nations were uniform in 
their belief of that article of the Mosaic history. 

6. Vossius says, that a tradition prevails among 
the Chinese, that Puoncuus with his family, escaped 
from the universal deluge, and was the restorer of the 
human race. The same is also stated by father Mar- 
tinius, the Jesuit, who was a resident in China, and 
who says, that all the ancient writers of the Chinese 
history, speak largely of the flood. Even among the 
Indians of North and South America, many traditions 
of a general deluge, are said to prevail. 

7. We shall close this enumeration of authors, with 
the great and respectable names of Strabo, Plato and 
Plutarch, all of whom express their belief in a gen- 
eral deluge. Plutarch, particularly, says, that Deu- 
calion, when the waters of the flood were abating, 
sent forth a dove, which returned with an olive leaf 
in her mouth. It may indeed be said, that he copied 
this from the history of Moses : in reply to which, 
we only need answer, if so, then he doubtless gave 
credit to that history. 

Many more testimonies might be adduced on (his 
su])ject ; but from those already stated, those who are 
disposed to tax the history of Moses in this article 
with falsehood or absurdity, may see something of the 
nature of the controversy, in which they are engaged. 

It is thought by many, that the heathen mythology 
deciphered, is but the history of Noah and his sons, 
and the original dispersion of their families. Saturn, 
whom mythology declares to be the father of gods 
and men, they say, was Noah ; and Jupiter, the son 
of Saturn, was Ham, the son of Noah. Plato affirmed, 
that Saturn was the son of Oceanus and Thetis. 

A bold and lively fancy would not scruple to say, 
that Noah was born of the sea, or of the flood. The- 



20 THE CREDIBILITY OF 

tis was the Ocean, and Oceanus the god was supposed 
to preside over it. As Noah passed over the delage 
from the old world to the new, nothing could be more 
natural in those simple and pastoral ages which fol- 
lowed, than for orators, poets and fabulists first, and 
at length for all others to celebrate him, as sprung 
from the sea ; yea, to promote him at length into a 
god, and to adore him, as the father of gods and men* 

VVi»en Babylon was taken by Alexander the Great, 
his philosopher, Calisthenes, found in the tower of 
Babel, astronomical observations for 1903 years pre- 
ceding ; i. e. from its supposed building. The Chal- 
deans were astronomers at a very early date ; and 
their view in rearing that very high tower among 
other things, might have been to provide a convenient 
observatory. Alexander took Babylon about 333 
years before Christ ; which would make the building 
of Babel 2236 years before Christ. The Mosaic his- 
tory places the flood 2348 years before the Christian 
era : consequently Babel must have been begun 
within a little more than a century from the flood. 

Three famous ancient authors, viz. Plato, Herodo- 
tus, and Diodorus Siculus, each of whom visited 
Egypt, fix the date of the heroic age, and what they 
call the wars of the great gods, at different eras, but 
not far from the same time. Plato fixes the date of 
these wars in the time of Cecrops. The " Antiqui- 
ties of Greece" state, that Cecrops founded the com- 
monwealth of Athens 1450 years before Christ, or 
253 years before the Trojan war. Herodotus and 
Diodorus fix those wars a little earlier. Between the 
days of Cecrops and the flood, were 898 years. In 
this time the Mosaic history comes down to the con- 
quest of Canaan ; and in this time took place all 
those transactions between gods and giants, so famous 
in mythology. From this statement we deduce two 
considerations of importance : 

1 . Neither the traditions nor histories of the Greeks 
and Egyptians claim a higher antiquity than the Mo- 
saic history — and 



THE MOSAIC HISTORY. 21 

2. As far as their traditions can be traced from 
facts, or their allegories resolved, they, go rather to 
corroborate, than weaken the authority of that histo- 
ry. In this period, Menes, or Misraim, laid the foun- 
dation of the ancient kingdom of Egypt, which, it is 
said, the Copts and Arabs still call the land of Mesr, 
or Misraim. In the same period, Nimrod founded 
the kingdom of Babylon — Elam, the son of Shem, 
founded the Persian, and Ashur the Assyrian empires. 
Joktan, the great grandson of Arphaxad, settled in 
Africa ; and the sons of Japhed settled in Italy, 
Germany, Scythia, and the east. Those who have 
leisure and inclination to read, may see this subject 
treated at large, in Bedford's Chronology. 

Under this head, it shall sufiice to say, that no ac- 
count of the origin of the universe of creatures, has 
ever been presented to the human understanding, so 
rational, so sublime, and so consonant to the sponta- 
neous voice of nature, as that given by Moses. 

It only remains for us to inquire, v/hether the books 
called the books of Moses, are genuine ; whether they 
were in fact, the productions of ]\!f>ses ; and whc^ther 
Moses could have ht?fn aided in vriiing these books, by 
any other mean< of knowledtie, than divine inspiration. 

That the hooks of Mosce. commonly called the 
Pentateuch arc ejrnnine, i. e. written by him, or 
under his immediate direction, there is satisfactory 
evidence. riie fust source of evidence we shall no- 
tice, is the re'jfular annals of a nation. That the 
Israelites were an eniio;htened nation, is evident from 
the elecrance and sublimity of their writings, and the 
wonderful and excellent fabric of their laws. The 
fundamental maxims of law and justice, among the 
most enlightened nations now existing are borrowed 
from the law of Moses. And whoever will examine 
the civil government of the Hebrews, will perceive, 
that their maxims of policy were drawn with con- 
summate wisdom.* That Moses was a general, a 

* See LowMAN on the civil government of the Hebrews. 



22 THE CREDIBILITY OF 

law-giver, and a writer among the Hebrews, is as 
evident, as that Solon, Lycurgus, or Julius Cesar 
sustained some of the same offices in their respective 
countries. Whoever can believe that Homer wrote 
an epic poem, Demosthenes orations, Cesar com- 
mentaries, or Horace odes, must also, if he is candid, 
believe tliat the books of Moses are genuine. 

Let us now inquire, whether Moses had any means 
of coming to the knowledge of things, which took 
place before his day, besides those of immediate 
inspiration. He certainly had, for he was skilled 
in all the learning of the Egyptians — in his time the 
most learned of all nations. 

Moses was the son of Amram, tlic son of Kohath, 
the son of Levi. Shem,the son of Noah, lived near 
to the birth of Jacob; and Methusaleh had lived 
many years cotemporary with Adam, and also many 
years with Shem. It will hence follow, that Adam 
conversed with Methusaleh — he with Shem — Shem 
with Isaac : and Moses might have seen persons who 
had conversed with Isaac. 

Moses, therefore, must have possessed peculiar ad- 
vantages, to know whatever could be known, orally, 
of ancient history. And who does not know the accu- 
racy, with which many nations preserve historic facts, 
and the facility with which they transmit them to pos- 
terity, without alphabetic writing? Admitting, there- 
fore, the origin of the human race to have been as Mo- 
ses relates, it is highly probable, that Moses, and oth- 
ers as well as he, must have had very complete infor- 
mation respecting Adam and Eve — their transgression 
— the murder of Abel — the punishment of Cain — the 
translation of Enoch — the progress of art, and of vice, 
before the flood — the building of the ark — the flood, 
and the repeopling of the earth, by Noah and his 
son : especially, when we add to other considerations, 
the great age to which they lived before the flood. 

The longevity of the antediluvians is asserted by 
many of the heathen writers of antiquity. It was 



THE MOSAIC HISTORY. 23 

their opinion, that the human race, while uncor- 
rupted by vice, lived long ; but when they provoked 
the gods by their wickedness, diseases were sent, 
and their lives cut short.* 

Adam, indeed, could have learned nothing of 
what took place before his creation, but by special 
revelation. But what is there unreasonable in the 
idea, that the Almighty, when he had created man, 
should reveal himself to him, and give him some 
intimations concerning the work of creation and 
providence ? We answer — nothing. liic reverse 
would be unreasonable, and utterly inconsistent with 
the wisdom and goodness of God. For Almighty 
power to -give existence to man, to immure him in 
darkness, to leave him to explore his way to the 
discovery of his own origin, duty and destiny, and 
to find out the existence and perfections of the first 
cause, would be utterly inconsistent with divine be- 
nevolence. 

Considering man either in his original or fallen 
state, there is nothing unreasonable in the idea of 
God's revealing himscll to him in a direct and special 
manner. Had man never fallen, who can doubt 
that God would have given him various, continual 
and most glorious manifestations ? By these he 
would have been ennobled and perfected in his 
moral faculties, till he attained the high excellence 
of angelic natures. Even in his depraved and 
fallen state, it wns not inconsi«itent with the Father 
of mercies to begin, to carry on. and to comj)lete, 
his benevolent designs toward him, by an immediate 
revelation of himself. 

We raa}^ then demand. Why are some philosophers, 
so opposed to the doctrine of a special revelation of 

* Thus Horace, speaking of the fable of Prometheus, says, 
" Post igneni astherea dome 
Siibdiicliim, rnacies, et nova febrium 
Terris incubuit cohors 
Semotiqiie prius, tarda necessitas 
Lethi corripuit graduru.^' 



24 THE CREDIBILITY OF 

God to mankind ? Is not the language of their heartSg 
Depart from us, O Lord, we desire not the knowledge 
of thy ways ? 

Since it cannot be denied, that man is a reason- 
able being — that he is a moral agent capable of 
virtue and vice, and that as such, he is a proper 
subject of government, neither can it be denied, that 
his highest felicity must forever depend on his 
progress in knowledge and virtue. That he should, 
therefore, come to the knowledge of a being of 
infinite power, wisdom and goodness, seems indis- 
pensable to his happiness. Hence, it seems to be a 
thing highly desirable in itself, and necessary to 
man's eternal well-being, that God should reveal him- 
self to man, in ways far more direct and special, 
than he has in the works of nature. 

When God's character and perfections are once j 
discovered, we then can easily perceive traces of 
them in his works ; but if God had never revealed 
himself to man in any special way, it is extremely 
doubtful, whether the mind of man ever would have 
reached the first cause, even in conjecture. We 
often hear it observed, that pure deism is the most 
rational and self-consistent of all religions. But it 
should be remembered, that the idea even of that 
one God, of which pure deism boasts, is obtained 
from divine revelation. 

Could we see what system of theology the mind 
of man would frame, without any aid from imme- 
diate revelation, we should see a scheme far different 
from the boasted true or pure deism. Such a scheme 
may indeed be seen in the religion of some of the 
inhabitants of Afiica and the islands, who, it is 
said, have not the least idea of a Supreme Being, 
care nothing about futurity, and live without law or 
goveriiment.* Pure deism, therefore, would prove 
to be a scheme of religion without the idea of a God ; 
a scheme, which probably the pure deist must either 

* See Locke on the Human Understanding — vol. i. lib. i. p. 64, 65, 



THE MOSAIC HISTORY. 25 

adopt, or look for the character of the God whom he 
adores, in special revelation. It will hence follow, 
that pure deism, divested of any aid from revelation, 
will prove to be atheism. Indeed we may safely 
assert, that, had not God made a supernatural reve- 
lation of himself to man, the whole human race 
would have been atheists and savages. 

The common objection to the doctrine of creation, 
as taught by Moses, is,( that it is impossible to con- 
ceive how God could create all things out of nothing. 
We have no difficulty in conceiving, that God is a 
being of almighty power ; yet we have no conception 
of the manner, in which he exerts his power, even in 
any case. Upon a careful examination of this mat- 
ter, it will appear that the objection before us ope- 
rates equally against all events as effects of divine 
power. It simply amounts to this ; we cannot con- 
ceive hozu divine power operates : shall we therefore 
deny that it operates at all ? 

The mighty chain of effects and causes, although it 
begins with the great first Cause, consists of innume- 
rable links. Many effects in their turn, become 
causes, and produce other effects; whence, generally 
speaking, all effects are in their turn causes, and all 
causes, excepting One, are effects. In this infinitely 
wide field of causes, there seems to obtain one impor- 
tant distinction. All these multifarious, and perpetual- 
ly operating causes, are either intelligent and design- 
ing, or incogitative and physical. Those two classes 
of causes are widely different in their nature, and 
equally so in their effects. So far as our observations 
can extend, proportion, arrangement, beauty, and ex- 
cellency, whenever they are effects, are invariably and 
immediately from intelligent and designing causes. 
Uninteiligent, incogitative causes, never produce or- 
der, proportion, beauty or excellency. Homer could 
write an excellent poem ; but a rock, if conveyed to 
the top of a mountain, and set rolling dov/n, will dash 
and prostrate all before it : there wiii be nothing like 
3 



26 THE CREDIBILITY OF 

order or elegance in its path. Sir Christopher Wren, 
or Inigo Jones, could build a glorious palace, but a 
whirlwind, a torrent or an earthquake, though never 
known to erect the smallest building, have been known 
to throw down and demolish many. Where agents of 
that nature have been operating for ages, so far from 
ever effecting any thing beautiful or useful, the dis- 
orders of such a place will only increase. 

We are therefore taught by reason and experience 
that the order, beauty and magnificence of the visible 
universe, are the effects of an intelligent, designing 
cause. The conclusion is irresistible, that there must 
be a being who does produce such etfects. We see 
enough of his power and wisdom displayed, to afford 
conviction, that he can create. There seems nothing 
absurd or extravagant in the idea, that a being of al- 
mighty power, can create out of nothing. It is not 
derogating from the respect due to God, to say that 
he cannot work contradictions ; that he cannot cause 
two and two to be five ; that he cannot cause a thing 
to be, and not to be, at the same time ; but that he 
can cause a thing to be at one time, and not be at 
another, involves no absurdit}-. Let it be supposed 
that there was a time, when no creature existed. 
Will the objector say, that the eternal God could not 
give existence to creatures ? Will he say, that God 
could not create both matter and mind ? An artist, 
indeed, cannot make a watch without materials, and 
tools to work with : he must have the steel, the sil- 
ver, the brass, the chrystal, Sue, Must therefore, the 
infinite Deity have pre-existing materials, in order to 
make a world ? If so, he is but an artist of superior 
skill, but of limited powers. 

Those, therefore, who object to the idea of absolute 
creation as absurd, should tell wherein that absurdity 
consists. If they deny a distinction between matter 
and mind, and hold matter to be eternal and uncre- 
ated, it will come to this, that there is nothing but 
matter and nothing but Deity, all things are God ; or 



THE MOSAIC HISTORY. Sqf 

that there is no mind, no creation, no God. If there 
be any such thing as mind in creatures, it is a con- 
scious thinking principle or being. But all rational 
creatures, with which we are acquainted, know per- 
fectly well, that their consciousness has not been eter- 
nal, but had a very recent beginning. But if minds 
have a beginning, we are compelled to grant, that 
they are created. Is it more difticult to create mat- 
ter, than mind ? It is presumed that no modest, sensi- 
ble man will affirm, that matter and mind cannot be 
created, without he is previously able to tell us what 
matter and mind are. When the philosopher can go 
so far to prove from the nature of a being, that God 
almighty could not have created it, we will subscribe 
to his scheme; but if his weightiest argument be 
founded in his acknowledged ignorance, he is liable 
to the charge of inconsistency. For, as on the one 
hand, there is nothing in the known nature of things 
which militates against the idea of their being created, 
so on the other, the being and perfections of God are 
proofs, that he can create, and all the phenomena of 
nature corroborate the same. And it will be found 
that all those strong doubts respecting the possibility 
of creation, are grounded on doubts of the being and 
perfection of God. But should the objection before 
us, be allowed to have all its full weight, i. e. that we 
cannot at all, conceive how God can create out of 
nothing; will it thence be safe to conclude, tliat he 
did not in fact create ? Can we conceive how divine 
power, or indeed any other power, is applied to cause 
the revolution of the planets ? Yet by some power or 
other their revolution is effected. Can we conceive 
how the energy of the divine will operates in the 
production of any one event ? or, in short, can we 
conceive how any one cause ever produces any effect? 
Has the divine will, therefore, no energy ? And is 
there no such thing as cause and effect ? Can we con- 
ceive how God can be omnipresent ? Is he therefore, 
«ot omnipresent ? In short, to come nearer home, can 



29 CAUSES OF THE OBSCURITY 

I conceive how the motion of the pen, now in my 
hand, is connected with my volition, and caused by 
it ? No more than I can conceive how God could cre- 
ate the universe. Yet my pen does move, and that 
motion is connected with, and caused hy,my volition. 

If our conceptions must be the rule and the limit 
of our belief, we shall directly plunge into scepticism, 
and shall never stop short of atheism. The objec- 
tion before us, therefore, is utterly void of weight, 
and evidently of atheistical tendency. 

Since, therefore, the Mosaic history, in the doctrine 
of creation, asserts nothing repugnant to reason, nor 
yet to the phenomena of nature — since all existing 
considerations rather favor, than discountenance that 
doctrine — since that history, in general, is corrobo- 
rated by collateral testimonies, as far as they exist, 
and by the genuine characters of realit}^, truth and 
reason, where they do not ;; it challenges belief and 
respect, as the highest, most unquestionable and 
valuable of all ancient authorities. 



CHAPTER II. 

CAUSJiS WHICH HAVE OPERATED TO PLUNGE ANCIENT 
HISTORY INTO DARKNESS. 

SEVERAL events, both in ancient and modern 
times, have cohspiredto plunge the history of ancient 
nations into darkness. Those events have cast a veil 
of obscurity over such parts, as have reached our 
times, and have unfortunately buried others in oblir 
vion. In the first class of those events, may be rank- 
ed the destruction of libraries. The famous library 
of Alexandria, founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus, 
about 284 years before the Christian era, consisted 
of vast collections of records, histories, tracts, poems, 
and works of taste^ This immense repository of an- 



OP ANCIENT HISTORV. 29 

eient science, had been replenishing for several cen- 
turies. Here was amassed every thing that was curi- 
ous, valuable, or elegant, among literary productions, 
since the days of Memnon, including, doubtless, all 
the ancient tales and genealogies, handed down by 
oral tradition, before the invention of letters. This 
library was destroyed in the burning of Alexandria, 
by Julius Cesar. 

Here were doubtless many valuable originals ut- 
terly lost. Before the art of printing, and especially 
in ancient times, there were but few books in the 
world ; no work of magnitude could be obtained, but 
at a great expense. The Alexandrian library might 
have comprised half the books in the world, and very 
many of them with scarcely a duplicate existing. 
The loss was reckoned at 400,000 volumes. The 
institution was, however, revived, and a still greater 
collection made, which was enriched by the noble 
productions of the Augustan age. This flourished 
till the seventh century of the Christian era, when it 
was burned by the Saracens, who used the books for 
common fuel. There perished 700,000 volumes. 

We may next notice the extinction of smaller libra- 
ries, and institutions for promoting science. The 
loss of these, though less ostensible, yet, on account 
of their numbers, and dispersion through the most 
enlightened nations, by imperceptible degrees be- 
clouded the skies, and served to overwhelm the days 
of antiquity in darkness. The rage of barbarians, in 
every age, has been levelled at the productions of art 
and genius, which it is their pride and pleasure to de- 
stroy. When but few copies of the most valuable 
works were extant, the burning of a single house, 
might bury in oblivion the annals of a nation. Nor 
yet is the impervious gloom, with which many parts 
of ancient history are covered, chargeable wholly on' 
savages. In the destruction of Memphis, Persepolis, 
Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Jerusalem, Carthage, and 
Corinth, manj valuable productions of genius and 
3* 



30 OBSCURITY OF ANClENf HISTORY. 

learning were for ever lost. Who can read of the 
sack of Corinth, without emotions of unspeakable re- 
gret ? There the most elegant statues and pictures, 
the finest productions of Greece in her meridian, 
were dashed in the streets, crushed in the general 
wreck, and thrown into the flames. And after the 
immense capital of the Roman empire had been 
enriched, ornamented and aggrandized by all that 
had escaped the wars of two thousand years, it was 
destined to be plundered from time to time, and fall 
a prey to the barbarians, over whom it had triumph- 
ed ; so that in the reign of Justinian, it was besieged 
and taken five times in the space of twenty years. 

The decline of the Roman empire, and its sub- 
version by the northern nations of Europe, have 
thrown between us and ancient times, a wide and 
dreary vale of darkness, through* which only a few 
of the stronger lights of history gleam upon our 
times. Instead of wondering that there is so little, 
it is wonderful, indeed, that so much has escaped 
the gulf of oblivion — that so many inestimable 
jewels have been dug from the tombs of empires, and 
that so many noble monuments of literature have 
been dble to resist the waste of ages, and the shock 
of revolutions. 

The lloman empire first experienced a total loss 
of public virtue. Inseparably connected with that, 
was the loss of its liberties, and the elevation to the 
imperial throne of a succession of the most execrable 
monsters of vice, that ever swayed a sceptre. It 
long survived its orators, poets, historians and phi- 
losophers — it long survived its virtue, integrity and 
martial spirit. During so general a decay of intel- 
ligence, genius, and virtue, events must have arisen 
highly prejudicial to ancient literature, which we 
have no means of tracing. All the paths of science 
were overrun and entangled with unintelligible scho- 
lastic jargon ; and the Chirstian religion itself, which 
had, by the purity and simplicity of its doctrines and 



SOURCES OF ANCIENT HISTORY. 31 

morals, prevailed and triumphed through the empire, 
at length became loaded with useless ceremony, and 
ridiculous superstition. 

In a word, the fall of the ancient Greeks and 
Romans, the rage of barbarians, a series of great 
revolutions, and the lapse of numerous ages, have 
conspired with numberless events of less magnitude, 
to lessen our means of the knowledge of ancient 
history. But many stupendous works of art and 
literary productions have made their way through all 
these storms, have neither been worn out by the 
wheel of revolving ages, cancelled by the restless 
malice of man, nor crushed in the general wreck of 
states and empires. 

To trace out these valuable remains, is a melan- 
choly, though a pleasing, useful and important work. 
To accomplish that work, we are compelled to ex- 
amine a voluminous comment on the depravity of 
our species ; we are led to consider man, when 
under the reign of his passions, as an object of ex- 
treme deformity, and disgust. In pursuing those 
interesting discoveries, we are guided by a few scat- 
tered lights, which burn with strong lustre : we must 
make wide and solitary excursions among the tombs 
of heroes, sages, empires, and revolutions. Tiiere 
we shall see displayed the greatest efforts of genius, 
and the strongest powers of philosophy ; and there 
we shall see, that all human institutions, however 
flourishing they may appear for a while, must at 
length fade. 



CHAPTER III. 

SOURCES, WHENCE THE KNOWLEDGE OF ANCIENT HISTORY 

is DRAWN. 

IT is upwards of 3600 years since Memnon, the 
Egyptian, invented the letters of the alphabet ; 
about three centuries after which, they were Intro- 



'32 SOURCES OF 

duced by Cadmus into Greece.* To perpetuate the 
memory of events, and to convey ideas to persons 
absent, invention first suggested the use of figures, or 
images of things intended. When these were found 
inadequate, symbols, emblematic of more complex 
ideas, were adopted. But the defect of these, in 
expressing combinations and abstract ideas, must 
have soon appeared ; and was probably followed by 
the discovery, that a certain combination of arbi- 
trary marks might be adapted to the expression of 
all articulate sounds. This was doubtless the noblest 
of all inventions, as it has proved a most wonderful 
means of improving the human mind. It not only 
answered the highest expectations of its inventor, 
but doubtless far exceeded all conjecture ; as it 
proved to be the father of all the liberal arts and 
sciences, and has continued the widening source of 
knowledge, happiness, and admiration to every age. 
The most ancient of authentic historians, with 
whom we are acquainted, is Moses. He was born 
in Egypt 1571 years before Christ, at a time, as we 
have already remarked, when Egypt was the most 
enlightened of all nations. He, being the adopted 
son of Pharaoh's daughter, was of course educated in 
all their learning. He was born 777 years after 

* Great and respectable authorities advocate the opinion that 
alphabetical writing was not a human invention, but wholly a 
matter of immediate inspiration. Neither their arguments, nor 
the answers to them, can be here inserted. Much may be said 
on both sides of this question. We shall only observe, that it 
seems paying a useless compliment to revelation, miracle, inspira- 
tion, or any kind of supernatural agency, to be ready to call 
in their aid, in matters where they are not necessary, or to 
ascribe to them, as causes, things which may be easily accounted 
for without them. Besides, it is contrary to a known rule of phi- 
losophy, which forbids us to inquire for more causes of a thing, 
than are sufficient to explain its phenomena. There is not only 
h. total want of evidence, that an alphabet was given by inspi- 
ration, but, like all other arts, we seem fully authorized to ascribe 
it to the progress of invention and discovery. Many things in 
the history of literature, both ancient and modern, strongly cor- 
roborate this opinion. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 3S 

the flood, 289 after Ashur founded the Assyrian em- 
pire, and 277 years after the death of Shem. 

When Moses wrote, alphabetic writing had been 
known in Eg3^pt several centuries ; and, if we con- 
sider the rapid improvements which that very inge- 
nious people made in art and science, we shall see 
cause to believe that, in Moses' time, they had made 
very considerable progress. Nor were the Egyptians 
the only nation who improved in science at that 
early period. The Chaldeans or Assyrians were 
among the first cultivators of the sciences, particu- 
larly astronomy : so that, as we have already noted, 
their astronomical observations began at least nine- 
teen hundred years before the lime of Alexander. 

The longevity of the ancient nations, which did 
not wholly cease, till some time after the flood ; the 
simplicity of their modes of life ; their being planted 
in luxuriant regions of health and plenty, and their 
genius and spirit of enterprise, will account for the 
rapidity of their improvements and population : so 
that it will be no matter of surprise, if we find, within 
seven hundred years after the deluge, the eastern 
continent generally peopled — if we find populous 
cities, great nations, and extensive empires. 

At the time already mentioned, Moses appeared in 
Egypt — a man whom divine endowments, genius and 
learnine:, as well as -the elevated rank to which he 
was raised by adoption, and which he ornamented 
by his merits, had fitted for an important sphere of 
action, as law-giver, general, prophet, and historian. 
To what v^as said in a former chapter, concerning 
Moses' advantages in writing the history he wrote, 
we sliall here only add, that, as alphabetic writing, 
and of course something of records miiiht have been 
within forty years of the death of Shem, who had 
conversed long with Methusaleh, and he with Adam, 
we cannot doubt that Moses had not only the most 
ancient, but the most correct information concerning 
the things found in his history. 



34 SOURCES OP 

The history written by Moses, contains nothing 
but what might be looked for in the dictates of a 
being of infinite wisdom ; and the nature and char- 
acter of the five books called the Pentateuch, exhibit 
as clear a proof of divine inspiration, as the frame of 
the heavens and earth do, of divine workmanship; 
and that blindness must be great which does not per- 
ceive them to be so. Indeed, it will be found to be 
a truth, that those who question the one, will also 
doubt the other. 

In this place we cannot avoid noticing the remark 
of an elegant historian, but who, at times, seems 
capable of assertions equally bold, impious and pro- 
fane.* He asserts, that the God of Moses delighted 
in blood and cruelty. Will that writer deny the 
universality of God's providence? Will he aiFirm, 
that God Almighty delights in cruelty and blood ? It 
will be readily granted, that the nations of Canaan, 
whom Moses and Joshua invaded, had never injured 
the Hebrews. But had the Governor of the uni- 
verse no right to punish them for their wickedness, 
by what instruments he pleased ? Will that writer 
affirm, that the Canaanites were an innocent, virtuous 
people, not deserving what they suffered ? It was far 
otherwise; and so enormous were their crimes, that 
the righteous God of providence saw fit to extirpate 
them from the earth ; to which work he commis- 
sioned the Israelites, and made them the executioners 
of his wrath and vengeance. Were they better than 
the people of Lisbon, Lima, or Portugal, who perish- 
ed by earthquakes ? or was the destruction of the 
latter more providential than theirs ? or is it essen- 
tial to justice, that the criminal should always suffer 
by the hand of the injured person ? Even under the 
best governments, criminals always suffer by those, 
whom they never injured. It is the province of 
every good government to provide its own execution- 
ers, and they are often persons who have no knowl- 

* Russel's Ancient Europe. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 35 

edge of the criminal. It was in this way God pun- 
ished the people of Canaan : And who knows the 
extent of their desert ? Who can tell what privileges 
they had abused ?^how they trampled equally on 
divine justice and mercy, and insulted the threatnings, 
as well as the patience, of their Creator ? The 
impious assertion just noticed, was one of the most 
blasphemous which ever escaped the mouth of man. 
For " as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no 
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the 
wicked turn from his way and live." Does the gen- 
eral course of divine providence justify our author's 
assertion ? or rather does it not exhibit the clearest 
proof, that God is long-suffering, slow to anger, and 
abundant in goodness and mercy ? 

Next to Moses, the course of whose history is 
traced by Josephus, a Jewish writer of the Augustan 
age, is Herodotus, a Greek historian, who is justly 
called the father of history. He flourished in the 
87th Olympiad, 413 years before Christ. He was of 
the city of Halicarnassus, a maritime city of Caria, 
a colony of the Asiatic Greeks. He wrote about a 
century before Alexander the Great conquered Asia, 
while the Persian empire was still in its strength, 
while Egypt remained the august seat of learning, 
near the sacking of Rome by Brennus, and while 
the Grecian republics were yet free, virtuous, and 
powerful. 

Herodotus had travelb'd much in Western Asia—* 
had visited the venerable seats of the ancient em- 
pires. His general history was divided into nine 
books. When he read his history to the learned 
assembly of Greece, they gave to his books the 
names of the nine Muses, as a testimony of the high 
sense they entertained of their superlative merit. 
He wrote in the Ionic dialect. 

Xenophon, a Greek historian, wrote about half a 
century after Herodotus. He had commanded an 
army in Persia, in the time of the younger Cyrus ; 



36 SOURCES OP 

and had conducted the retreat of ten thousand 
Greeks from the heart of the Persian empire ; an 
event much celebrated in ancient history. The style 
of Xenophon is simple, nervous and elegant ; and it 
can scarcely be doubted, that something of the glory 
of the great Cjrus, has been owing to his pen. 

The Iliad of Homer is a source of abundant in- 
formation. Several cities in ancient Greece, claim 
the honor of giving birth to Homer. He wrote 907 
years before the Christian eraw ( From his poems, 
we may learn the manners and customs of his time ; 
the modes of life, and of making war ; and the 
notions of honor, morality, religion, and government, 
which prevailed. 

The genius of Homer was strong and rapid. To 
a. great extent of knowledge, he added equal purity 
and elegance of taste. His notions of character 
were just, vivid, and distinguishing; so that, as is 
said of another ancient writer, " his description is 
vision." Ossian, the Scottish bard, resembled, if not 
excelled, him in strenirth and boldness of imagina- ^ 
tion. While Virgil is compared to the meanders of "^ 
a majestic river through a rich and fruitful land, 
Homer is compared to a stroke of lightning, which 
in a moment dazzles, astonishes, and is past. 

Humer's Iliad will ever be considered an astonish- 
ing display of genius ; but of that kind of genius, 
however, which is rather terrible than lovely. The 
characters, which he drew, fully evince the truth of 
this remark. 

A character more unlovely, than that of Achilles, 
cannot well be imagined. Indeed, strength and cour- 
ages are the lavurite virtues of Homer ; under whose 
burning pen, they often degenerate into cruelty, 
barbarity and revenge. War, blood and desolation, 
form the prominent features of the Iliad; and render 
it, of all books, the most suitable pocket companion 
for Alexander the Great. 

Thurydides, Polybius, Diodorus Siculus, Dionysius 
of Halicarnassus, and many other writers before th^ 



ANCIENT HISTGRV. 37 

Christian era ; and, about that time and a httle after, 
Livy, Pliny, Tacitus, Suetonius, Plutarch, and others; 
and among the Roman writers also, the names of 
Justin, Sallust, Virgil, and Cicero, should be noticed. 
ITiese writers, although they all did not write his- 
tory, yet all contributed more or less, to perpetuate 
the important transactions of their times. To the 
labors of these men, the world is indebted for most 
of what is known of ancient history. 

Many of the writings of Cicero, have reached our 
times ; but there is reason to believe that some of his 
most excellent productions are lost. Cicero's works 
have been more fortunate, than those of most of his 
predecessors or contemporaries. It is thought that 
the ancients excelled the moderns in genius. How- 
ever this might be, it can scarcely be doubted, that 
they excelled in what is of more value than genius, 
even industry. 

There is another source, from whence some knowl- 
edge of antiquity is obtained ; I mean the ruins of 
those amazing structures, towers, palaces, and tem- 
ples, which are scattered in many parts of Europe, 
Asia and Africa. This, indeed, would have been a 
much more fruitful source of knowledge, but for the 
repeated and too successful efforts of barbarians and 
hostile armies, to strip thrm of their ornaments, to 
tarnish their beauties, and to erase their inscriptions* 
These monuments of ancient power, magnificence 
and splendor, are scattered along the coast of the 
Mediterranean, on the northern shores of Africa, 
and indeed in many other parts of the ancient world. 
One would scarcely believe, after knowing the pre- 
sent wretched state of Africa, that it was once reckon- 
ed the highest state of luxury to reside there — that, 
as a residence, it was preferred to France, or Spain, 
or Italy ;* and that even Italy itself drew its corn from 
the fruitful fields of Africa.! Egypt and Carthage were 

* The Africa so dslfgntful to the ancients, was but a small part 
of the quarter of the world, now known by that name. — Ed. 
t " Quidquid de Libycis verritur areis." — Horace. 
4 



38 SOURCES OF ANCIENT HISTORY. 

once great and flourishing empires : the former dis- 
puted with the Assyrians and Greeks, and the latter 
with the Romans, for supremacy. The pyramids of 
Egypt, as they are the oldest monuments of ancient 
greatness, so they are certainly the most stupendous 
monuments of patient and persevering labor. From 
the earliest ages of history, they have stood, and have 
defied the waste of time, and the desolations of war. 
To demolish the pyramids, would require more than 
the strength of a few individuals, and more than the 
perseverance of a barbarian army : therefore they 
stand, and will probably stand for numerous ages to 
come. The reader may see, in Thompson's, Volney's, 
and Bruce's travels, a particular account of the remains 
of antiquity in Syria, Egypt, and some other parts. 

The ancient monuments, found in Asia and Eu- 
rope, are indicative of far greater perfection of taste 
and sublimity of design, than those already mention- 
ed. To mere extension of parts, the Greeks added 
proportion. Materials of the finest quality, wrought 
with the utmost skill into buildings of noble form, 
majestic size, and elegant proportion, gave them an 
air of sublimity, probably never to be excelled. But 
by how much these buildings displayed genius and 
science, by so much were they the more exposed to 
the savage fury of war. A few of them have es- 
caped, which make report to us of the astonishing 
genius of the ancients, which we never could have 
obtained from books. What must Athens have been 
in the days of Pericles ! 

The ruins of Persepolis, Palmyra, and Balbeck, of 
which all travellers, who have seen them, speak with 
admiration and amazement, tell us more than wc 
could learn from volumes, concerning the opulence, 
power, and genius of their builders, and of the 
splendor and glory of their times. In all parts of 
Greece and Italy, and even co-extensive with the 
power of the ancient Romans, the remains of their 
grandeur may be seen in causeways, bridges, camps., 
castles, walls, temples, and monuments. 



VIEW OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 39 

The celebrated Arundelian marbles, the numerous 
inscriptions, the remains of statutes, medals, and 
paintings, which have been discovered in vaults, or 
dug from ruins, or which have been preserved in 
sequestered places or found by accident, increase 
the body of evidence, cast a certain light on various 
parts of history, and determine many chronological 
questions of importance. 

These evidences of antiquity, standing singly, 
would lose much of their weight ; but, combined, 
they substantiate and confirm each other; and, con- 
sidered in their various connexions and relations, 
there no longer remains a doubt of their veracity. 
Their combined testimonies give strength to each 
other singly, and in their sum they form a body of 
evidence, as clear and irresistible, as any case of 
ocular demonstration. It will be found as difficult to 
doubt whether Alexander was king of Macedon, and 
conquered Persia, as whether George Washingtoii 
was general and president in America.* 



CHAPTER IV. 

ASSYRIA. 

BRIEF HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE,! FROM 
ITS FOUNDATION TO THE REIGN OF NINYAS. 

THE history of the world, for the first eighteen 
centuries, is nearly buried in oblivion. From the 
creation to the deluge, little more has reached us, 

* In the follouMng work, we have followed one or another of 
the preceding authors, as occasion served, or have taken their 
accounts indirectly through the hands of modern M'riters ; among 
which we have consulted more particularly the following, viz. 
Rollin''s Ancient History, Russel's Ancient Europe, Gillies"* 
Greece, Travels of Anacharsis, Prideaux's Connexion, Bedford's 
Chronology, the Encyclopedia, Kennett's Roman Antiquities, 
Goldsmith's Abridgment of Roman History. 

t The Assyrian empire is here considered the same, as tile 
Babylonian empire. — Ed, 



40 VIEW OF THE 

than the genealogy of the patriarchs, together with 
a brief account of the vices of the antideluvians, and 
of the ruin which they incurred. 

The first dawn of the light of civil history, ex- 
tends not beyond the foundation of the ancient 
kingdom of Babylon, or Assyrian empire; and even 
there, it shines with faint and dubious beam. 

Nimrod laid the foundation of the city and of the 
kingdom of Babylon. The beginning of his king- 
dom, saith the sacred historian, was Babel, and Erech, 
and Accad, and C'alneh, in the land of Shinar. 
Nimrod was the son of Cush, grandson of 11am, 
and great grandson of Noah. The era, in which the 
foundation of this first of empires was laid, is fixed, 
by the concurrence of most chronologers, in the year 
of the world 1800, about a century and a half after 
the deluge, and 2204 years before the birth of 
Christ. 

There is nothing known respecting the character 
and government of Nimrod, excepting what we find 
Id the writings of Moses ; and the account there 
given is very concise. He is called a mighty hunter, 
and is said to have had a kingdom, the beginning 
of which was Babel, or Babylon. The probability 
is, that Ham and his sons, who founded Babylon and 
Egypt, early rebelled against Noah, the great patri- 
archal head and natural cliiefof the whole race; 
whereupon Noah, and such of his descendants as 
adhered to him, moved eastward, crossing Persia, 
India and China, to avoid the fury of this unnatural 
rebellion. 

Noah would be most likely to emigrate, or to settle, 
with one of his sons, on w horn his prophetic bene- 
diction rested, and especially with Shem, whom he 
considered in the line of the Messiah. Elam, the 
eldest son of Shem, settled in Persia, and it is highly 
probable, that Noah himself went still further east. 
The great antiquity of the Chinese empire, their 
original character and manners, and the peculiarity 



ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 41 

of their language, both written and spoken, are proofs, 
that they are one of the most ancient nations and 
governments, and that their founders were among the 
wisest of the human race. To this, if we add the 
abundance of their traditions concerning the flood, 
and of things which with little alteration will apply 
to Noah and to him only, we can scarcely doubt, that 
either that patriarch, or some of his descendants 
near his time, founded that empire. To all this, if 
we add the silence of Moses' history concerning Noah 
after the flood, we shall be confirmed in the belief, 
that he actually retired from Western Asia, the gene- 
ral scene of that history ; and, for reasons equally 
strong, shall see no room to conjecture, that he 
moved northward into the cold inhospitable wilds of 
Europe. That region was left to be explored and 
settled b\^ some of his more hardy, enterprising sons. 

The career of government began with simple mon- 
archy. It was no doubl first suggested, by the au- 
thority, which nature gives the parent over his child : 
for, no sooner did experience show the utility of 
combining the strength of a multitude in one exertion, 
than the importance of a centre of union, was seen. 
To give energy and system to any combination, to 
render it durable, wieldy and effective, there must be 
a directing head. 

A discerning ambitious man, clothed with patri- 
archal authority, might soon see numberless ways of 
extending his prerogative, and strengthening the 
nerves of his power. Indeed, before parental autlio- 
rity was amenable to a his/her court, it is not easy to 
conceive of a monarchy more unlimited. In a num- 
ber of particular families, the chief of each house 
would form a subordinate rank : they would naturally 
give place to the heads of tribes, and each of them 
unite in one patriarch, or grand chief. Such, proba- 
bly, was Nimrod. By what other means, less lauda- 
ble, he raised himself to power, is only matter of 
conjecture. 

4* 



4^ VIEW OF THE 

We have already said, that Nimrod's achievements 
are not particular!) known. He first employed his 
arms successfully against wild beasts, and became, as 
Moses stiles him, a mighty hunter. He next made 
war upon his own species, and founded his empire in 
blood. But we remain ignorant of the extent of his 
dominions, or the duration of his reign. His son and 
successor was Ninus, whose name, together with that 
of Semiramis, is rendered famous by the exploits they 
are said to have done. Ninus built the city of Nine- 
veh, which is said to have been 60 miles in circum- 
ference, inclosed hy a wall 100 feet high, and fortified 
with 1500 towers 200 feet high. Ninus engaged in 
many wars, and enlarged his dominions on every 
side, particularly eastward ; for he is said to have led 
armies into India. Semiramis, his queen, who sur- 
vived him many years, and reigned in great glory, 
rendered her name immortal, by an extraordinary 
course of splendid actions. Many superb structures 
and works of magnificence about Babylon, are ascrib- 
ed to her; in the building of which she employed 
two millions of men. 

If historians deserve credit, ancient Babylon was 
the noblest city ever built by man. It stood on a fer- 
tile and beautiful plain, watered by the river Euphra- 
tes, whicb passed through the midst of the city. Its 
walls, which were carried to the astonishing height 
of 360 feet, were 87 feet in thickness, and inclosed 
an exact square, whose side was 15 miles ; so that the 
city was CO miles in circuit. There were fifty grand 
streets, that is, twenty-five running each way, on right 
lines parallel to each other. They were 150 feet 
wide, and crossing each other at right angles, they all 
terminated in four streets, which lay round next to 
the wall on every side of the city, 200 feet wide. 
Thus the city was laid into 676 squares of 100 rods 
©n each side. These squares were lined with num- 
berless edifices beside houses generally three or four 
stories high j and within the squares were inDumera'- 



ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 43 

ble delightful plantations, pleasure grounds and gar- 
dens. But this must be understood of the city rather 
as it was in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, or Nitocris 
his daughter-in-law, than as it was in the days of 
Semiramis. 

Though the city stood on a plain, yet the celebrat- 
ed hanging gardens overlooked the walls. They 
raised a square of buildings four hundred feet on 
each side, internally supported by arches raised on 
arches, and without by a massy wall many yards in 
thickness. These works were carried up to the 
height of the wall, and over all a platform was laid 
four hundred feet square, formed by flat stones of an 
amazing size, over which were layers of reeds, then 
bricks cemented, and plates of lead, and then the 
earth for the garden, in such thickness as to support 
trees of the largest size. They were watered by an 
engine from the bed of the Euphrates. Brevity for- 
bids, that we give a description of the tower of Ba- 
bel, forty rods square at the bottom, and upwards of 
GOO feet high, or the moat which encompassed the 
walls, the bridge over the Euphrates, the palaces and 
the subterraneous ways. 

Many of these wonderful edifices, are supposed to 
have been built by Semiramis. She carried her arms 
far into Ethiopia, and still farther into India, where 
she was at last defeated with a total overthrow by an 
Indian king. These early conquests were far ditfer- 
ent, both in their nature and consequences, from those 
afterwards made by the Greeks and Romans. They 
were more easily gained and lost. Indeed, the pro- 
gresses made by Semiramis, Sesostris, and others, 
through Asia and Africa, were little more than excur- 
sions of discovery. They moved at the head of an 
immense multitude, without order, or much resis- 
tance, and lived upon rapine and hunting. In these 
times, not only fortification, but the military art, was 
unknown. Of course, wherever they went, they car- 
ried conquest; which was generally holden by no 



44 VIEW OP THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE* 

other band of security, than the weak and savage 
state of the conquered. 

But the accounts we have of those early times, 
are, in sundry respects, exaggerated, especially with 
regard to the greatness of their cities and conquests. 
Herodotus affirms, however, that Babj'lon maintained 
her conquests 500 years. 

Semiramis, after a reign of 42 years, abdicated her 
government to her son Ninyas. Few females have 
been more famous for their masculine virtues. Per- 
haps no one ever stood higher on the list of heroes 
and conquerors. As to those virtues, which beautify 
and adorn the female character, historians have little 
to say of her. 

Ninyas succeeded his mother. In what year of 
the city, it is not ascertained ; nor is it a matter of 
consequence, since, from this period, the history of 
the Assyrian empire, is utterly lost for more than a 
thousand years. Tradition has scarcely reported the 
names of the succeeding monarchs. They were 
extraordinary for nothing, but luxury, sloth, idleness 
and the most horrid tyranny. 

The provinces of the empire, during that period, 
had little more than a mere nominal subjection to 
those detestable tyrants ; probably for the most part, 
none at all ; and witiiout doubt., the pomp of univer- 
sal empire, was generally confined to tlie proud capi- 
tals Bab) Ion and Nineveh. The Trojan war took 
place some time after the middle period of the Assy- 
rian empire; but Homer makes no mention of the 
As.-yrian greatness; a fact, which, had it existed, 
could not have escaped his pervading mind, nor 
wanted a place in his hi^toricaK geographical and 
martial poem. As the universal conquests of Sesos- 
tn>, king of Egypt, are said to have happened a little 
before the Troj in war, Babylon and Nineveh must 
have lain central in his sweep of conquest, and it is 
not likely, he passed them by, but that his eastern 
career of victory, was begun by the reduction of those 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE* 45 

• 

proud cities. Would he go to the conquest of India, 
and leave the Assyrian empire in his rear, powerful, 
independent and hostile ? The nnisfortune of the case 
is, that the glory and conquests of Scsostris, are as 
dubious, as those of the Assyrians, and they certainly 
could not have existed together. The Assyrian enn- 
pire, first and last, was probably less in fact, than it 
is in history. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE, FROM THE REIGN OF NINYAS TO 
THE FALL OF MNEVEH. 

TPIE successors of Ninyas, the son of Semiramis, 
are little known in history. The seat of their gov- 
ernment, or rather of their enormities, was interchan- 
geably at Babylon and Nineveh. About 1450 years 
after the empire was founded by Nimrod, we find 
Sardanapalus feigning at Nineveh. If we may sup- 
pose, that the line of succession was unbroken, from 
the warlike Semiramis to him, than which nothing is 
more probable, lie was the last of that degenerate 
race of kings. From the silence of Homer, from the 
power and conquests of the kings of Egypt, from the 
figure Amraphel, king of Shinar, made in the days of 
Abraham, as stated in Genesis, and from the profound 
oblivion of the Assyrian history during so long a 
time, it is probable, that the Assyrian monarchy was 
broken, dissolved, perhaps annihilated, and that it 
must have undergone revolutions, exterminating 
wars, and petty tyrannies, at various times. 

However that may be, in the time, and during the 
rei^n, of Sardanapalus, history seems a little to emerge 
from darkness. That prince, being rendered weak 
and despicable by his vices, Arbaces, governor of 
Media, and Belesis, governor of Babylon, rebelled 



46 THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 

against him, defeated liim in battle, and drove him 
into his capital, where he is said to have destix)jed 
his treasures, and burned himself to death. 

The result of this rebellion, was the dismember- 
ment of the Assyrian empire. The province of Me- 
dia gained its liberty. A king, by the name of Ninus 
the younger, was establislied in Nineveh, and Belesis, 
one of the conspir itors, became master of Babjlon, 
as a separate kingdom. He is called in history, 
Nabonassar. 

The bcginnins: of the reiijn of Nabonassar, which 
was 747 years before Christ, is supposed to be the 
first era, from whence the line of civil history can be 
with certainty drawn. Nabonassar was contempo- 
rary with Jotham king of Judah, and his ora ccm- 
Hicnced within six years of the fouiscling of Rome. 

This revolution, although it rent the Assyrian em- 
pire in pieces, neither impaired the splendor nor 
magnificence of Nineveh or Babylon. ^J'hose cities 
now became the seats of independent princes, and 
distinct empires ; and dcaibtlo^s derived benefit fronfi 
tbeir new masters. But nci<b.er the history of the 
one, nor the other, is entirely known. From Nabo- 
nassar to the final subversion of the empire by Cyrus, 
Wris210 years; during which period, considerable 
light i«: thrown on the subject, by the sacred writings. 

Concerning two important circumstances, we shall 
notice, first, the repeated irruptions of the Assyrian 
kings into Judah and Israel, and their depredations 
on the neighboring nations ; and secondly, their car- 
rying away Judah and Israel into caj)tivity. 

We are told, 2 Kings, xv. 19, that Pul, king of As- 
syria, came into the land of Israel, and Menahem 
gave him a thousand talents of silver, to conciliate his 
favor and protection. That this was a powerful inva- 
sion, we need no other proof, than the price with 
which the Assyrian king was bought off. This inva- 
sion, however, was 24 years before the era of Nebo- 
nassar. 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 47 

Nabonasser, after a reign of twelve years, was suc- 
ceeded by his son Merodach-Baladan, of whom liule 
is known. This prince was in friendship with the 
Jews, and sent an embassy to congratulate king Fle- 
zekiah on the recovery of his health. From this 
period, the history of Babylon disappears, till the 
time of its union with Nineveh, under the govern- 
ment of Esarhaddon. But, in the mean time, the 
Assyrian kings of Nineveh were generally hostile and 
formidable to the nation of Israel. 

Tiglath-Pileser, the first king of Nineveh after the 
partition of the empire, was called in by Ahaz, king 
of Judah, to assist him against the kings of Syria and 
Israel. He came with a powerful army, and put a 
period to the kingdom of Syria, by taking Damascus, 
its chief city. He severely scourged the kingdom of 
Israel, whose dissolution now drew nigh ; and proved 
a costly and dangerous ally to Judah, Ahaz being 
obliged to rob the temple of its sacred treasures, to 
appease his avarice. An account of this is given, 
2 Kings, xvi. 7. This was in the year ,740, before 
Christ. 

About 20 years afterwards, Shalmaneser invaded 
and subdued Israel: he besieged Samaria, the capital 
of the kingdom, thi-ee years ; at length took it, and 
carried the ten tribes into captivity, and plaiited them 
in Media. This event happened about 250 years 
after the separation of Israel from Judah. From 
this captivity, the ten tribes never returned. The 
probability is, that they soon mingled with other na- 
tions, lost all distinction of origin, and will emerge to 
light no more. The inventive imaginations of theo- 
rists have discovered traces of thrm among the 
Turks, Tartars, American savages, and elsewhere. 
But w hen we consider the character of the ten tribes, 
their proneness to idolatry, and to incorporate with 
other nations, which, in their most pure and virtuous 
times, could not he prevented by their wisest legisla- 
tors, even when they were a distinct and independent 



48 THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE, 

nation ; when we consider the revolutions, tyrannic^, 
barbarity, and ignorance of Asiatic tribes in all ages ; 
when we consider the great length of time, and other 
auxiliary circumstances, we are strongly led to this 
conclusion ; still allowing full weight and authority 
to ancient scripture prophecy, from which nothing 
certain on this subject can be discovered. 

After a reign of fourteen years, Shalmaneser died, 
and was succeeded by his son Sennacherib. An ac- 
count of his formidable invasion of Judah, in the 
reign of Hezekiah is particularly related, 2 Kings, 
xviii. 13. He invaded Judah with a powerful army j 
in the mean time defeated the king of Egypt, who 
was coming to relieve the Jews, and would have 
probably taken Jerusalem ; but his army was sudden- 
ly destroyed by pestilence. He returned to Nine- 
veh, where he played the tyrant with so high a hand, 
that his own sons assassinated him in the temple of 
Nisroch ; and he was succeeded in his throne by 
Esarhaddon. 

During the reiirn of this prince, the royal family of 
the kings of Babylon became extinct, and there was 
an interregnum of 8 years : the weak and disordered 
state occasioned by this, enabled Esarhaddon, who 
was a wise and politic prince, to annex Babylon to 
his dominions. Thus, after a sepaiation of 6 7 years, 
tliese two powerful kingdoms again became one : } 
but this union, together with its happy fruits, was of 
short duration. The linal destiny of Nineveh was 
now fast approaching : a rival power was rising to 
maturity, and ready to burst, with utter destruction, , 
upon that proud empire. 

Esarhadt-lon, thirteen years after the union of Ba- 
bylon with Nineveh, was succeeded by his son Na- 
buchodonosor. This prince defeated and slew Phra- 
ortes, king of the Medes, in a great battle, and took 
Ecbatana, the capital of Media. This defeat, how- 
ever, did not check (he martial spirit or rapid growth 
of that warlike nation. It was left for the sons of 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 4S 

the victors and vanquished to act the last scene, and 
conclude the drama of the first of the eastern empires, 

Cyaxares, the son and successor of Phraortes, was 
soon at the head of a numerous and well appointed 
army. Determining to revenge the death of his 
father, he marched directly into Assyria, encountered 
and defeated an army thrown in his way, and imme- 
diately invested Nineveh. He would probably have 
taken it, but was obliged to raise the siege, and march 
in haste to defend his own territories. The ^Scythians, 
a race of warlike savages, inhabiting the wilds of 
Europe and Asia, had driven before them the Cim- 
merians, a people equally savage, and nearly as terri- 
ble, dwelling near the Palus Meotis. These, in num- 
berless hordes, were depopulating the fertile fields of 
Asia, and had invaded the dominions of Cyaxares. 
The Medes were defeated by them in several battles, 
and the Scythians remained masters of most coun- 
tries between the Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean 
Seas, a great part of Upper Asia, for several years. 
We shall speak more particularly of them in our 
review of the Persian empire. 

While the king of Media was waging doubtful war 
with the Scythians, Nabopollasser, governor of Baby- 
lon, revolted from the king of Nineveh, and set up 
an independent government. In this he was encour- 
aged by Cyaxares, who had not changed his purpose 
of subduing Nineveh. Saracus, king of Nineveh, 
although menaced by such potent enemies, adopted 
no efficient system of defence ; but, dissolved in 
luxury, and lost to all sense of glory, he supinely 
waited the gathering storm. 

Cyaxares at length rid himself of the Scythian in- 
vaders, by a stroke of policy, which nothing but the 
emergency of the times, and manijers of the age, 
could warrant. He invited the chief offictrs of the 
Scythian army to a general feast, prepared in various 
parts, where, in the midst of mirth and intoxication, 
his guards, and others appointed for that purpose, 
5 



60 THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 

fell furiously upon them and killed them all, without 
resistance. 

Cyaxares once more invaded the Assyrian empire, 
assisted by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. These 
two powerful princes accomplished the final subver- 
sion and abolition of the first Assyrian empire. Nine- 
veh was taken and destroyed. 

A sublime description is given of the fall of this 
ancient city by the prophet Nahum. From that also, 
we may form some idea of its greatness and splendor. 
This event happened B. C. 600, and in the 147th 
year of Nabonassar's era. 

The Assyrian empire rose, flourished, and fell, 
while the world was yet in its infancy. Few maxims 
of its government have reached our times ; few inci- 
dents have escaped oblivion ; and those which have, 
are doubtless tinctured with the stream of tradition, 
passing through long and bewildering tracts of time. 
From what we can gather from such dubious lights, 
we are led to conclude that the fabric of the ancient 
monarchical governments, was very simple. It may 
be expressed in few words, sovereign power, and 
absolute subjection. Where the monarch chanced to 
be an amiable character, the condition of the subject 
was very tolerable ; but power so unrestrained, in 
the hands of a bad man, produced the most dreadful 
tyranny. 

In every form of government, sovereign power must 
be lodged somewhere. Power, considered merely as 
corporeal strength, is naturally, in the hands of every 
man, nearly alike ; and the machine of government 
is a device, by which the power of many is combined 
and called forth by consent, in one great exertion. 
To call forth and exert this combination, the monarch 
has the sole power. He therefore can do whatever 
ail his people, collectively, can do. His will directs 
their whole strength. In mixed governments, espe- 
cially in republics, this national exertion is obtained, 
not by the will of one, but of many, who are chosen 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 51 

bj the people for that purpose. But in this latter 
case, individuals commonly find means to obtain the 
real, while, in the former, the monarch often holds 
only the nominal sovereignty. 

The splendor and greatness of Nineveh, as of all 
other great cities in early times, consisted chiefly in 
their public buildings. The dwellings of the great 
mass of the people, were little better than wretched 
hovels — without, unornamented, and within, unfur- 
nished. Indeed, this is still the case in most of the 
great cities of Asia. Nineveh and Babylon contained 
little worthy of notice, except their walls, towers, 
temples, palaces, and superb structures of royalty. 
How incomparably more magnificent are the modern 
cities of London or Paris, when viewed as the abodes 
of men. Here are seen, monuments of every art and 
science ; the astonishing effects of commerce ; opu- 
lence and independence reigning among all classes ; 
the diffusion of knowledge ; the reign of science, 
freedom and plenty. The private houses of modern 
cities appear to be the residence of a free people, 
enjoying no small portion of wealth, independence 
and happiness. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE, FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF NINE- 
VEH TO THE TAKING OF BABYLON, BY CYRUS. 

BABYLON now remained unrivalled, and alone. 
The city consisted of a mighty assemblage of the 
most amazing structures, temples, towers, palaces and 
walls — works of incredible labor and expense, where 
millions had toiled, and groaned in painful servitude. 
These buildings were rather admirable for their stu- 
pendous greatness, than for elegance and due propor- 
tion in architecture. As for the rules and propor- 



52' THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 

tions in building, they were in a great measure ub- 
known, and the different orders of architecture were 
yet to be discovered. They had nothing comparable 
with the temple of Minerva or of Balbeck. For the 
noble science of architecture, the world is indebted 
to the strong and mathematical genius and elegant 
taste of the ancient Greeks, 

Nebuchadnezzar was now on the throne of Baby- 
lon ; and the extent of his dominions was answerable 
to the splendor of his capital. But there were two 
cities, whose fame and opulence rendered them ob- 
jects worthy of his ambition : one was Jerusalem, the 
other was Tyre ; the latter of which was one of the 
strongest cities then known. 

The siege of Jerusalem employed him two years; 
which, however, he at length terminated, by the utter 
destruction of that noble city. In the nineteenth 
year of his reign, he burnt Solomon's temple and 
carried the Jews to Babylon ; where they remained 
{70 years, Four years after, he besieged the city of 
Tyre ; the reduction of which was the most arduous 
enterprise of his life. Tyre had stood, from its 
foundation, 660 years ; having never been taken by 
any foreign power. After the Chaldean army had 
suffered incredible hardsiiips, and consumed 13 years 
in infinite labors, the city was taken; not, however, 
till the inhabitants had removed their principal effects 
to an island, about half a mile from the shore. Here 
a new city rose, which soon eclipsed the glory of the 
former ; a striking proof of the power of commerce. 
This new Tyre still flourished, and even far trans- 
cended its former state. When attacked by Alex- 
ander the Great, nearly three centuries afterwards, 
it was able to resist the impetuous valor and unri- 
valled skill of that great commander ; nor is it proba- 
ble, he ever could have taken it, but by making him- 
self master of the sea. Of this siege, we shall 
speak hereafter. 

Nebuchadnezzar reigned prosperously 43 years. 
Something of his history and character may be col- 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 63 

lected from the sacred writings. He found no equal 
among the neighbouring contemporary princes ; he 
extended his conquests far and wide ; was the great- 
est monarch of his time, and doubtless the greatest 
that ever ruled the Assyrian empire. 

Babylon had now seen the zenith of its glory, 
and was soon to suffer a final and total eclipse. Four 
princes in succession, after Nebuchadnezzar, are re- 
membered only to perpetuate their infamy, and to 
merit the just reproach of bringing ruin on themselves 
and people. Evil-Merodach, Nebuchadnezzar's son 
and successor, was taken off by insurrection. He 
was succeeded by Neriglissar, his brother-in-law. 
This prince was soon slain by the armies of the 
Modes and Persians. His successor, still more infa- 
mous, reigned only nine months, and fell by conspi- 
racy. To him succeeded Belshazzar, in whose reign 
Babylon was taken by Cyrus. This great city, justly 
considered as impregnable to every open and direct 
attack, was taken by stratagem ; which we shall re- 
late in speaking of the Medes and Persians. Bel- 
shazzar was surprised in the midst of a public feast 
— was slain in the gate of his palace ; and the 
kingdom of Babylon became extinct, being the last 
branch of the ancient Assyrian empire, 210 years 
after its separation from Nineveh. 

Thus ended the second Assyrian empire, having 
subsisted, in various forms, 1668 years from the days 
of Nimrod. Babylon, however, still the noblest of all 
cities, about twenty years after it was taken by 
Cyrus, revolted from Darius Hystaspes, then in the 
fifth year of his reign, and made preparations for a 
long and desperate resistance; but was again taken 
by stratagem. Zopyrus, the general of Darius, 
suffering his nose and ears to be cut off, fled into the 
city, pretendedly as a deserter. His military skill 
soon procured him a command in the city ; he open- 
ed the gates and let in the Persian army. A traitor 
should be suspected, but never trusted. Alexander 
5* 



54 THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 

intended to have made Babylon his capital. It 
only furnished him with an untimely grave. It 
has been desolated for many ages ; the pleasant 
country around it becoming a morass by the over- 
flowing of the Euphrates, its place is not exactly 
known ; and it has lain wholly desolate, and without 
inhabitant, from generation to generation — literally 
fulfilling the predictions of Isaiah the prophet. 

The ancient Assyrian empire, exclusive of its ex- 
tensive conquests, comprehended much of what is 
now called Turkey in Asia ; territories lying about 
the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. It stretched north- 
ward towards the Caspian and Black Seas, with a 
dubious boundary on Circassia ; west and north-west 
it spread towards the Mediterranean Sea, and met 
Syria and Palestine; south and south-west lay the 
Persian gulf and Arabia ; and east, the ancient Media 
and Persia; though, indeed, all these territories and 
many more, were at times, subjugated to that mon- 
archy. 

In glancing an eye at the rise and fall of the 
ancient nations, it would be highly useful and interest- 
ing, could we develope, with certainty, the sources 
of their prosperity, and the causes of their fall. But 
if this inquiry is attended with inexplicable difficul- 
ties in instances (he most recent, how remote iVom 
investigation is it in the tirst governments which ever 
existed ? National prosperity may be considered in 
two points of light : 1. VVhen a nation, considered as 
a body, is powerful, respected, rich, and eminent in 
the view of surrounding nations : or 2. When a na- 
tion is in such a state, that the individuals, who com- 
pose it, are prosperous, happy, and secure. 

In some instances these two kinds of national pros- 
perity have united for a time ; but those instances 
are rare, and that union of short continuance. His- 
tory presents many examples of the first. Such, in- 
deed, were all the ancient monarchies; such was the 
empire of Constantine the Great, of Charlemagne, of 



PERSIA. 5^ 

Ghengliis Khan, of Charles V. of Louis XIV. — and 
we might come still nearer our time. But what his- 
tories shall we consult to find examples of the second ? 
If we judge from the most probable sources of conjec- 
ture, concerning individual happiness, in those em- 
pires of most splendid figure in history, our con- 
clusions will not be very favorable. Where millions 
are subject to the control and arbitrary direction of 
one, however good may be his intention, yet he will 
err, through vanity, through weakness, through pas- 
sion ; but, above all, through ignorance. Vainly 
i relying on his own sagacity, prudence and foresight, 
j he will use his power to its extent; be will form de- 
ll signs, and strike into projects, in the compass of 
i which, the rights, if not the lives, of thousands and 
I millions, will be crushed, and their sighs and groans 
I never heard. 

But nothing is more uncertain, than any compari- 
( son we can make of the happiness of nations ; for in 
I all governments, sovereign power must be exercised 
ij by certain hands, cither hereditary or elective ; and 
; as all men are ambitious of power, it is a question, 
] what form of government contains the most of private 
1 happiness. If popular governments are more equi- 
table, they are, at the same time, most feeble, most 
; liable to convulsions, and revolutions, and of shortest 
( duration. 



CHAPTER VII. 

MEDIA AND PERSIA. 

THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, FROM ITS FOUNDATION TO THE 
BIRTH OF GYRUS. 

THE Medcs and Persians are considered as the 
descendants of Shcm, the son of Noah, and of the 
family of Elam. There is lillle known of that great 
and powerful people, but from Herodotus, Xcnophon. 



56 PERSIA. 

and the sacred writings. Their empire, in its full ex- 
tent, extended from India to Ethiopia, and from the 
waters of India and Arabia to the Caspian and Black 
Seas. It was with them, as it was with all the great 
empires of ancient times ; their boundaries were fre- 
quently dubious, and always varying. Indeed, the 
present empire of Russia is a similar instance, the 
emperor himself, and his ministers, scarcely knowing 
its real limits and extent ; for which there is good 
reason : their boundaries may be compared to those 
places where the land and sea dispute for empire, 
and prevail by turns. Their subjection is but nomi- 
nal ; and such is their distance from the seat of 
government — so wild and ferocious their manners, 
that correct intelligence can hardly keep pace with 
the rapidity of their revolutions. 

The Assyrian empire, the centre of which was 
about the river Euphrates, early subjugated all the 
different tribes and nations, from the river Indus to 
the isthmus of Suez. Of course the Persian terri- 
tories were included.. But before the revolt of Media 
from that empire, the history of the Medes and Per- 
sians is unknown. It has been already noticed that 
Arbaces, governor of Media, taking advantage of the 
weak administration of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria, 
formed a conspiracy, and conceritrated a combination 
of powers against him, which proved his overthrow, 
and the dismemberment of his kingdom. 

Babylon, Nineveh, and Media became distinct and 
independent governments. Of the history of the two 
former, we have drawn the outline : indeed, little 
more has escaped oblivion and reached our times. 
While those great powers were going to decay, the 
Modes and Persians, like most nations in their youth, 
acquired a military spirit ; and being uncorrupted 
with luxury and vice, they fell upon happy methods 
of discipline and internal order, which could not fail 
of giving energy to their councils, and success and 
renown to their arms. 



PERSIA. 5? 

^ome time after the separation of Media from the 
Assyrian empire^ Dejoces, a powerful chief of that 
country, erected it into a monarchy. He was a wise 
and politic prince. His character is highly celebrat- 
ed by Herodotus and others. It is worthy of remark, 
that most nations, in the first of their career, are led 
and ruled by great and good men. We might in- 
stance Romulus and Numa, in Rome ; Themistocles, 
Aristides, Lycurgus, Solon, Epaminondas, in Greece ; 
Cyrus, in Persia; David and Solomon, in Judra; and 
in later times, Charlemagne, in France; Alfred, in 
Enijland ; and we may add, Washington, in America. 

Dejoces employed a long reign of more than fifty 
years'ln civilizing his subjects, promoting the arts of 
peace, and reducing to practice an excellent system 
of policy, and thereby shewing himself worthy to 
reign. He left behind him a grateful memorial in 
the minds of his subjects, and a son and successor of 
a warlike, ambitious, and enterprising temper. Phra- 
ortes succeeded his father in the kingdom of Media. 
Few circumstances are recorded of him. He carried 
on wars with various success — subjected the Persians 
to his power — made war with Nabuchodonosor, the 
king of Nineveh, in which he was unfortunate, and 
terminated his career, together with his life, after a 
reign of twenty-two years. 

This Nabuchodonosor is thought to have been the 
monarch of that nanje, nientioned in the book of 
Judith, who sent Holofernes to invade Judea. The 
Assyrian empire was then much weakened, and fast 
declining, but was still too powerful for the Medes. 
In those ages, when the safety of a nation depended 
more on personal valor and niilitary skill, than on 
riches and artful negociations, the loss of a general 
battle produced very diifcrent effects on a rising na- 
tion, composed of hardy warriors, inflamed with a 
desire of conquest, and just beginning to be dazzled 
with the splendors of empire, from w' at it did on an 
ancient ijation, immensely rich, voluptuous^ effemi- 



58 PERSIA. 

nate, and drowning in its own luxuries. While on the 
one hand, the Medes soon recovered their loss, and 
rose more terrible after the defeat and death of 
Phraortes; on the other, the defeat of the Assyrians 
before Bethulia, and the loss of a general and his 
army seemed to break their spirit, and hasten on 
their final subversion. 

Cyaxares the first, succeeded his father Phraortes. 
He soon collected and drew after him an army com- 
posed of the fiery and unconquerable spirits from the 
mountains of Media. He pushed his conquests in 
every direction — united the barbarous tribes of 
Media under his standard, and soon became formida- 
ble to all the neighboring nations. But as his con- 
quests lay chiefly among tribes and clans of uncivil- 
ized barbarians, we shall pass them over in silence. 

The good fortune attending his arms, and the re- 
membrance of the shameful defeat and death of his 
father in the Assyrian war, now roused him to seek 
revenge on that proud empire, which had so long 
tyrannized over many nations. He marched at the 
head of a powerful army, toward Nineveh, encoun- 
tered and defeated an Assyrian army thrown in his 
way, and laid close siege to the city. As the Assy- 
rians were utterly unable to keep the field, their only 
safeguard and dependence was the strength of their 
capital. But as nothing now remained of that warlike 
character, which distinguished and exalted their 
nation in former ages, the siege was like to be of 
short continuance, and must have ended in the speedy 
reduction and utter ruin of that city, had not Provi- 
dence designed to procrastinate their doom for a few 
more years. 

Cyaxares was suddenly recalled to defend his own 
territories from the Scythians, who had poured down 
upon Media, and were likely to overrun all Western 
Asia. This is the first irruption of that barbarous 
people, mentioned in history. It was something up- 
wards of 600 years before the Christian era. The 



PERSIA. 59 

history of that people, is curious and wonderful. 
They seem to have been designed as the instrument 
of Providence to scourge the nations of the earth. 

The northern and eastern wilds of Europe and 
Asia^ gave birth to a race of men, in early ages, more 
properly called an immense collection of wandering 
tribes and families, than a nation. Their manner of 
life, both in war and peace, has been uniform and 
perpetual. Their courage was invincible, their ar- 
mies innumerable, and they seemed to spring from 
sources inexhaustible. Though extremely fierce, and 
devoid of mental cultivations, yet their policy, in its 
kind, was keen, artful and profound. Their inva- 
sions resembled the emigration of an entire province. 
They carried with them their families and effects ; 
and the shock of their impression was adequate to 
the overturning of the greatest empires. In the most 
vigorous periods of the Roman empire, they shook 
its foundations ; and finally, in one tremendous inun- 
dation, desolated the whole civilized world. 

As ancient Media lay nigh the Caspian sea, and 
bordered on what is now denominated Circassia, the 
dominions of Cyaxares lay directly in their way into 
the interior of Western Asia. He therefore marched 
with all speed, and gave them battle ; but was totally 
defeated, and obliged to fly before a victorious enemy. 
But as the circumstances of this war between the 
savage Scythians, and the Medes not much more 
civilized, are but slightly known, and would be wholly 
uninteresting, were they otherwise, we shall not dwell 
upon them. It shall suffice to say, that Cyaxares, 
after struggling several >ears, with various fortune, 
found means to destroy or expel them from his 
dominions. He is said to have caused them to be 
invited to a feast, made in various parts of his kins:- 
dom, where, in the midst of intoxication, his guards, 
and other emissaries, fell upon them, and caused 
them to perish in a general massacre. 7'he difficul- 
ties, however, attending so extensive and deep a 



60 PERSIA. 

conspiracy, leave room to doubt the authenticity of 
the story. 

Cyaxares at length found leisure to renew his in- 
vasion of Nineveh. He met with little obstruction 
in opening the siege ; and as his efforts were aided by 
the king of Babylon, a powerful and warlike prince, 
with whom he had formed an alliance, the reduction 
of the city soon followed, as we have formerly noted. 

Cyaxares pursued his conquests, leaving only Chal- 
dea to the king of Babylon ; and having extended his 
territories, and enriched his armies with treasures 
and spoils of immense value, he returned to Media 
in great glory ; where the enervating influence of the 
Assyrian luxury soon became visible, and, among 
other causes, concurred in transferring the empire 
from the Medes to the Persians. 

Cyaxares was succeeded by his son Astyages, 
whose reign was long and prosperous. He had a 
daughter whose name was Mandane, who married 
Cambyses, king of Persia. His son Cyaxares suc- 
ceeded him in his Median territories. Of Cambyses 
and Mandane, was born the great Cyrus, who put a ' 
period to the latter Assyrian, and effected the union 
of the Midian and Persian, empires. 



CHAPTER vnr. 



■»fe 



THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, FROM THE BIRTH OF CYRUS TO THE 
CONQUEST OF THE LESSER ASIA. 

; THE legal heir to a splendid fortune, or to an im- 
perial throne, has little honor in comparison with 
him, who, by the force of his genius, breaks the power 
of depressing circumstances, bears down all impedi- 
ments, removes the various difficulties and embar- 
rassimcnts, with which weak men are encompassed, 
and carries along with him, a whole nation to the 



PERSIA. 6i 

elevated summit of empire. However much we may 
be disposed to ascribe it to a fortunate concurrence 
of events, it will appear, on careful attention, to arise 
from that astonishing power, some men have over 
others, of combining and directing their exertions to 
proper objects — from their great energy of character 
— from their commanding and comprehensive views 
of human affairs — from their quick discernment in 
the choice of expedients — from their bold and mas- 
terly projection of grand schemes, and from their dili- 
gence and perseverance in every pursuit. 

With such a genius, Cyrus was endowed. He 
found his native country but small, and inhabited by 
an inconsiderable people. The territories of the 
ancient Persians, it is said by good authorities, com- 
prehended but a small part of that vast country now 
bearing their name ; which extends from the rivei* 
Indus to the Euphrates. They were allies and de- 
pendants of the Medes, who. under Cyaxares the first, 
the great grandfather of C} rus, had destroyed Nine- 
veh, and subjugated many neighboring countries, as 
ahe^Tdy noticed. West of them, lay the kingdom of 
Babylon, immensely opulent, and still powerful, but 
declining under the administration of a dynasty of 
weak and vicioris monarchs. 

As the Medes had put a period to the first Assyrian 
empire, the Assyrians of Babylon viewed them with 
an eye of jealousy, and waited only for a convenient 
time to make war on so powerful and dangerous a 
neighbor. This soon presented ; and Neriglissar, 
king of Babylon, haviiior drawn into his alliance 
iCroesus, king of Lydia^tind many neighboring princes 
and tributaries, took the field. Cyaxares the second/ 
had just before this, succeeded to the throne of his 
father Astyages. He was alarmed at the prospect of 
so formidable a war, vvliich seemed likely to over- 
whelm his dominions. He immediately sent to Ca?n- 
byses, king of Persia, requf sting that Cyrus might be 
se«t to his aid at the head of the Persian auxiliaries. 
6 



62 PERSIA. 

Cyrus then first appeared as the commander of an 
army, and fully justified the expectations of those, 
who had seen his wisdom, discreetness, and valor on 
former occasions. He displayed all the activity, the 
humanity, the address, the fortitude, and the personal 
authority of a great commander. A general battle 
was fought, in which the king of Babylon was slain, 
the Assyrian army totally defeated, their allies dis- 
persed, and their affairs rendered desperate. But, as 
the victory was wholly owing to the conduct of Cy- 
rus, the king of Media was filled with chagrin, envy 
and discontent. He soon after returned home, and 
left Cyrus to prosecute the war at his own discretion. 

The Assyrians were unable to collect another army 
sufficient to cope with Cyrus. He therefore pene- 
trated into Chaldea, took every fortress that lay in 
his way, ravaged the country, and marched to the 
gates of Babylon. But the stupendous height and 
impenetrable thickness of the walls, the lofty towers, 
^nd gates of solid brass, arid the multitude of men 
within, seemed to indicate a longer hiege and more 
obstinate defence than Cyrus was prepared to under- 
take. Before that city could be Jaken, he had once 
more to try his fortune in the open field. 

He therefore returned with his victorious army to 
Media, to his uncle Cyaxares ; and from thence re- 
visited his father Camb}ses, in his native country 
Persia, after an absence of about seven years.- 

It was now pretty clearly foreseen, that Cyrus was 
rising to the empire of Asia. His great qualities as 
a general, the sublimity and grandeur of his designs, 
the^ celerity of his movements, the martial order of 
his camps, and the tremendous impetuosity of his 
battles, added to the lustre of his character in private 
lite, presaged his future greatness, and seemed to set 
him foremost in the first rank of men then living ; 
and as we shall see hereafter, entitled him to the 
highest character of all the monarchs of Asia. 

On his approach towards the borders of Media, as 
just related, his uncle Ovaxares met him with cool- 



PERSIA. 63 

Kcss. And well might he have been alarmed for the 
safety of his kingdom and the security of his crown, 
had Cyrus been of that dark, perfidious character, 
which many great conquerors have too clearly shewn 
to the world. But Cyrus had the address to dispel 
his fears, quiet his jealousies, and conciliate his affec- 
tions: so that the just apprehensions of mankind of 
a rupture between the Medes and Persians, were 
removed ; Cyrus, doubtless, well understanding, how 
important the strict union of those two warlike pow- 
ers was to the accomplishment of his designs, and 
also foreseeing, how likely it was that he should one 
day reign over both. 

The rapid growth of the Persian arms under Cy- 
rus, had now excited general attention from Egypt to 
India. A league was formed among the principali- 
ties of Asia, at the head of which was the king of 
Babylon, and Croesus, king of Lydia. 

But before we proceed, it is necessary to draw the 
reader's attention, for a moment, aside from the line 
we are tracing. The Lydians were an ancient people 
of Lesser Asia, situated between Ionia on the west, 
and the greater Phrygia on the east. They derived 
their name, from Lydus, an ancient king of that 
country. His family, according to ancient authors, 
was supplanted by the descendants of Hercules, who 
reigned over the Lydians several centuries. After 
various revolutions, we find Croesus on the throne of 
Lydia, the prince just mentioned; He was the friend 
and ally of the king of Babylon. His capital was 
Sardis, where afterwards was situated one of the 
seven churches of Asia. 

Croesus was immensely rich, and the Lydians,, 
though a very voluptuous, were yet a warlike, nation. 
This prince, .notwithstanding the splendor and opu- 
lence of his court, and the luxurious magnificence of 
his kingdom, was a consummate general, as well as a 
proficient in the Grecian philosophy. He was per- 
petually engaged in wars, and made conquests and 



64 PERSIA. 

considerable additions to his dominions. It may als© 
be proper to observe, that the Lydians had, on for- 
mer occasions, engaged in wars against the Medcs, 
and were their natural enemies, as they were the 
friends and allies of the Assyrians. 

The king of Babylon, whom no emergency of gov- 
ernment, or national exigence, could now draw from 
his debaucheries, had placed Croesus as the acting 
head of the league, to contend with Cyrus ; but, in 
the mean time, had furnished him with vast sums of 
money ; had drawn a great army even from Egypt; 
had collected what forces he could from all Western 
Asia, then very populous ; and, in a word, had as- 
sembled an army, perhaps second to none in those 
times, but the army of Xerxes the Great, afterwards 
drawn from the same populous regions. It consisted 
of 420,000 men. This army was assembled at Thym- 
bra, a place not far distant from Sardis, the capital of 
Lydia. 

Cyrus lost no time in collecting what forces he 
could. His army fell short of 200,000 ; but his chief 
dependence was on 70.000 Persians, whom, with his 
own hand, he had trained to the art of war, and into 
whom hejiad infused his own invincible spirit. Con- 
trary to all expectation, Cyrus put his army immedi- 
ately into moti'tn, and marciird in quest of his ene- 
mies. Tltcir distance could not be les? than a thou- 
sand miles : it was probably more, and that tbrc ugh 
couriti'ics, inhabited by hostile nations. Nodifiiculty 
could intimidate Cyrus; no labor or danger could 
abate the ardor of his troops. By long and rapid 
marches, he soon came up to the place of rendezvous, 
from which Croesus had not moved, but lay in per- 
fect security. 

Celerity is the first and grandest of all military 
maxims. It was this which gave victory and fame 
to Cyrus, Alexander, Hannibal and Cesar; and it is 
this which is now prostrating the armies of all Europe 
before the victorious Napoleon, Though celerity 



PERSIA. 65 

indeed is not the only thing necessary ; yet, other 
things being as they should be, it renders invasion 
irresistible and victory certain. 

The Assyrians were astonished at the intrepidity 
of Cyrus, especially considering the inferiority of his 
arniy, and distance from^his own dominions. But 
still they placed confidence in their own resources — 
their superior numbers, and the military skill of their 
commanders. 

A spacious plain was chosen on which the army of 
Croesus displayed a line of battle five miles in length. 
Their plan was to flank the Persians, and surround 
them, knowing their own numbers to be much supe- 
rior. Cyrus, aware of this, had determined that his 
army should act in three directions; and so sure of 
victory was he, that he ordered the centre of his ar- 
my not to move, nor strike a blow, till he had routed 
the wings of the enemy. When the signal for battle 
was given, the Persian army stood firm and profound- 
ly silent in a line much shorter and deeper than the 
enemy, till the wings of the latter had wheeled 
round, and formed three sides of an encompassing 
square. At that instant, Cyrus wheeled the wings of 
his army, and fell with an irresistible shock upon the 
wings of the enemy : they both gave way and fell 
into confusion : that was the signal for the centre, 
where commenced a battle, long, fierce and bloody. 
A hundred and twenty thousand Egyptians, ranged in 
battalions thirty deep, in close order, and covered 
from head to foot with bucklers and cuirasses, formed 
the centre of the allied ajmy. The horse, on which 
Cyrus rode, was killed ; and he fell among forests of 
spears, and showers of javelins. How often the fate 
of a battle, and even of whole nations, depends on 
the couraire and strength of a general. INothing 
could boar him down ; he defended himself, sword in 
hand, till he was rescued by his guards and remount- 
ed. I'his column of Egyptians stood their ground, 
and fought with amazing bravery, till the field was 
6* 



66 PERSIA. 

cleared of all other enemies. Cyrus then ofiered 
them honorable terms of capitulation, which they m 
accepted, and laid down their arms. I 

Never was victory more complete, or battle more " 
decisive. It decided at once the fate of the Lydians, 
and all the nations of the Lesser Asia. As Croesus 
had wantonly drawn tlie Assyrian war into his own 
kingdom, he now tasted the fiuits of his temerity. 
But, determined to protract the dispute as much as 
possible, he collected another army, and encountered 
Cyrus again, with similar success. Finding all was 
lost, he retired into Sardis, and prepared to defend 
that capital against the conqueror, who now com- 
menced a regular siege. The city was soon reduced, 
and Croesus was condemned to die ; but was repriev- 
ed and restored to favor, and, it is said, reinstated in 
his dominions, as a tributary prince. Some writers 
relate, that Solon, the celebrated Grecian philosopher, 
had, in the prosperous days of Croesus, visited that 
prince ; and that Croesus, after shewing him the 
splendor of his capital and resources of his king- 
dom, demanded of the philosopher, whether he did 
not think him a bappy man? Solon answered him in 
the style of a Stoic, and concluded by telling him, 
that he could not tell wbetber be was happy, till he 
had heard of his deatb. Croesus, in a rage at the 
freedom and boldness of Solon, called him a fool, and 
ordered him out of his sight. 

Cyrus, in the ancient barbarous manner, when 
Croesus had become his prisoner, ordered him to be 
burned to death. He was accordingly bound on the 
pile, which was set on fire. While the flames were 
approaching the unhappy Croesus, he suddenly recol- 
lected the words of Solon, and being now forcibly 
struck with their justness, he cried out, O Solon ! So- 
lon ! The thing was told to Cyrus, who immediately 
demanded an explanation. Whereupon Croesus relat- 
ed to him the circumstances Af his interview with So- 
lon, and concluded by saying, that " he will now hear 



PERSIA. ' 6? 

of my death, and will indeed pronounce me an un- 
happy man." 

Cyrus, powerfully affected with the fickleness of 
fortune, and the changes to which men are liable, or- 
dered the royal captive unbound, and restored him 
to his favor. This story, however, is said by some 
writers to be fabulous. 

The voluntary submission of many states, by their 
ambassadors, followed the conquest of Lydia ; and 
Cyrus had little further use for arms in that country. 

We shall soon see him in Chaldea, discovering the 
strength of his genius in the reduction of Babylon. 
This shall be the subject of the next chapter. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, FROM THE REDUCTION OF ASIA 
MINOR, BY CYRUS, TILL ITS SUBVERSION BY ALEXANDER* 

FROM the conquest of Asia Minor, Cyrus directed 
his march toward Syria and Arabia ; and in a few 
years saw all Western Asia subjected to his arms, Ba- 
bylon alone excepted, u'his had, from the first, tired 
his ambition, and had been the ultimate end of all his 
schemes and enterprises^ Wifli an army adequate 
to the undertaking, be now advanced towards that 
immense capital. He was met by the king of Ba- 
bylon, with a numerous army, whom he defeated 
with great slaughter. The Assyrian monarch fied 
into the city, shut after him the massy gates, and 
prepared for a long and resolute defence. This 
siege commenced about nine years after the capture 
of Sardis. 

Cyrus immediately drew his army before the city, 
and commenced a series of operations, in which the 
whole vigor and extent of his genius were aided by 
the most efficient principles of the art of war, known 



68 PERStA. 

in his day. But be had difficulties to encountei*, 
which would have discouraged any one but himself. 
The Assyrians mocked and derided him from their 
lofty battlements ; and seemed secure in a fortress, 
too stronjgcto be reduced by the art of man. 

The height, thickness, and solidity of the walls of 
Babylon, rendered them impregnable to every at- 
tempt. On the top, thf-y were so broad, that several 
chariots might run abreast : and at short distances, 
there were towers much higher than the walls, con- 
tinually filled with armed men. The gates were solid 
pieces of brass, of such strength and weight as to 
defy all possible engines of war. The walls and 
towers were guarded by a numerous army ; and it 
was thought, with what provisions there were in the 
city, and what might be raised within it, in the gar- 
dens before mentioned, that the inhabitants might 
sustain a siege of twenty years. There is reason to 
doubt, whether Cyrus could have taken Babylon 
otherwise than by stratagem : for, after having spent 
nearly two years, during which time he tried every 
mode of attack he could devise, he saw no prospect of 
success, nor any reason to expect, but that a block- 
ade of many years must be his only resort ; and even 
that resort, extremely dubious in its issue. 

But it is a truth, that whatever man can build, 
man can destroy; Ihd it is a truth far more melan- 
choly, that with whatever expense, pleasure and 
ambition, any thing is built by one man, the time 
may come, when, with equal expense, pleasure and 
ambition, it will be demolished by another. 

His comprehensive genius, however, at length pro- 
jected a plan, by which he gained the city. At some 
distance above the city, had been dug an immense 
pit, of size sufficient to receive the w^aters of the river 
for a considerable time. From this place, were 
brought the materials for building the walls and struc- 
tures of Babylon. It is said to have been many 
miles in extent. With this lake, the river commti- 



PERSIA. 69 

nicated, by canals, which were closed along the river 
by dikes of amazing strength. By breaking down 
these, the river would forsake its course, and flow into 
the lake. On the night of a public festival, Cyrus 
caused the dikes to be broken down. The river im- 
nnediatelv turned out of its channel, which became so 
dry, that the Persian army marched down into it, 
with little difficulty, into the city ; and were met by 
another division of the army, who had marched up 
the channel from the opposite side of the city ; and 
althougii there was a high wall on each side of the 
river, yet, on that night, the gates leading to the river 
were generally left open. In the midst of revelling 
and drunkenness, the inhabitants were surprised ; 
and tlie king, hearing the uproar abroad, had only 
time to advance to the e:ate of his palace, where, 
fighting sword in hand, he was slain. 

The city and province of Babylon, without further 
resistance, suV?mitted to the conqueror. Thus ended 
the Chaldean or Lower Assyrian empire. This 
event happened about 6fty years after the destruction 
of Jerusalem by Nebuehadnezzar — 209 years from 
the beginning of the reign of Nabonassar, or Belesis 
— more than 2000 years from its foundation by 
Nimrod,or Belus ; and in the year before the Chris- 
tian era, 538. 

Babylon had now received an irreparable blow. 
This diversion of the river continued to overflow the 
finf'st part of the adjacent country, and at length 
turned it into an extensive marsh, as loathsome and 
unhealthy, as it was useless. The current of the 
river^brough the city was obstructed, and the water 
shallow. From this period, Babylon experienced a 
rapid decay, till it was taken by Alexander tha Great, 
about two hundred years after. Alexander, with a 
view to make it the seat of his empire, had deter- 
mined to restore it to its ancient splendor ; but dying 
suddenly, the work ceased. His successors aban- 
doned that proud capital for ever, and fixed the seat 



70 PERSIA. 

of their cjovornmrnl ai Selt'iK.ia ; or, as it wan called 
by some, New Jjabylon. 'I'lu; steps ol its decline 
can scarcely be traced to a tmicb later period. In 
the Aiiji;uslaii age, it was nearly desolalt^ Not tbe 
8mali(.'St vestitje of it now remains 5 and the exact 
place, where it stood, is unknown. 

About two years aher the reduction of Babylon, 
Cyrus, by the death of his falher and uiu le, sut ceed- 
ed to the sovereignty of Media and Persia. His em- 
pire now extended from the Caspian Sea to the In- 
dian Ocean, aiul from India (o Kthiopia. 

'1\) relate the |)articulars of the reign of Cyrus, 
would conduce little to the general design of this 
work ; aiul it would be still less conducive, and less 
interesting to go into many |)articulars concerning 
his successors. 'JMie fall of the Assyrian, and the 
rise of th(^ Persian empire, present to the reader 
the fust important revolution in tin; annals of history, 
whose ci)nse({uences were gcuieral and permanent. | 

Cyrus died at the age of 70 years. If we estimate * 
bis rvign from his assuming the command of the 
Persian and JVledian armies, it was thirty years — if 
from the contjuest of Babylon, it was 9 yeais ; and if 
from the death of bis uncle, Cyaxares, 7 years. He 
is rc^presented as a prince of great abilities i\in\ great 
wisdom : in his council and cabinet, as distinguished 
for profound polic}^ as for bravery and good Ibrtunc, 
in the lield. lie seems to have united the happiness 
of bis subjects with bis own glory; thereby securing 
the prosperity of his kingdom on its surest basis. 
He may, without doubt, be cdnsidered the greatest 
and best of the monarchs of Asia. 

Cyrus was an instrununt of Providence in accom- 
plishing the divine designs toward the Jews, as we 
shall hereader notice, in speaking of their history ; 
and he bail the distinguished honor (^f being foret(>ld, 
even by name, as tbe restorer of that chosen people.* 

* Isuiah, xlv. 1. 



PERSIA. 71 

The Persians, in every age, have been a brave, 
polite, and generous people. Not even the influence 
of lnul g(»vernment, the gloomy reign of superstition, 
or the r(>laxit)g indolence of a mild elimate, could, 
ever diabase them to a level with their neighbors. 
But the meridian of their glory was in the reign of 
Cyrus. 

The important revolution efTccted by Cyrus, and 
the spU lulor ofliis reign, are rendered famous in 
sacred history, by the restoration of the Jews, and 
the rebuilding of the city and temple of Jerusalem. 
They had been sul>dued and carried into captivity by 
Nehiiciiadnezzai', Uing of Babylon, where they iiad 
now remained for 70 years. On the accession of 
Cyrus lo the empire of Asia, lie issued a decree for 
their restoration; which, with other privileges, al- 
lowed I hem to return to Judea, to rebuild their cities, 
and to r<\store their worship. ^J'his decree was issuc^d 
4GU years from the dedication of the temple by 
Salomon — 955 years froni the departure of the 
I Isi-aeiiti's out of Egypt, and 53G years before the 
Cluislian era. 

C)ruswas succeeded in his extensive empire by 
his son, Cambyses ; who, in a short n ign of eight 
ye.irs, did little woithy either of the monarch of Asia, 
or of the great chara('l(;r and actions of his father, 
lie invaded lvi?ypt with some success; was guilty of 
many cruelties; murdered Smerdis, his only brother, 
tlie scrii of the great Cyrus. He was recalled from 
his l\gyptian exp<(lition, to suppress a rel.ellion rais- 
ed by SmtM'dis the Magian, who had usurped his 
throne in his absence. But on his return, as he was 
monuling his horse, his sword fell out ol its scabhard, 
and gave him a wound in the thigh, (>• which he 
died. The l^gyptiaus remark, that it was a jtnlg- 
nv 111 of lu^aven upon him, because he hnd wounded 
th(;ir god Apis, in the same place, lie had some 
military talents, but was remarkable only for rasli- 
iK'ss, pride, cruelty, and injustice. 



7^ PERSIA. 

Smerdis, the usurper, being soon destroyed, was 
succeeded by Darius Hystaspes. After him the or- 
der of succession was as follows, viz. Xerxes the 
Great, Artaxerxes, Xerxes II. Darius Nothus, Ar- 
taxerxes Mnemon, Ochus, Arses^ Darius Codomanus. 
From the accession of Cyrus till the conquest of 
Persia by Alexander, was 223 years, their average 
reign being about 20 years. 

In looking over this period of Persian history, from 
Cyrus to Alexander, there is little to engage the at- 
tention. The empire was generally on the decline. 
The vanity and vices of the kings, who reigned from 
time to time, were no less conspicuous, than their 
dangerous effects on the empire. The former led 
them often to engage in wars, particularly with the 
Greeks i the latter rendered them unable to contend 
with their enemies. Their most memorable enter- 
prise was that of Xerxes the Great. His invasion 
of Greece was rendered famous by the greatness of 
his army, his dastardly conduct, total overthrow, and j 
shameful retreat to his own dominions. Of this ex- \ 
traordinary expedition, a brief account shall be 
given. 

The growing povver and military fame of the 
Greeks had, bet'ore the reign of Xerxes, excited both 
the jealousy and the fears of the Persian Monarchs. 
Xerxes, therefore, no sooner ascended the throne, 
than he began to meditate an invasion of Greece ; and ' 
particularly of the Athenians, for their conduct during - 
the reign of his father. Accordingly, he levied forces 
from all parts of his dominions, and made extensive 
preparations, both by sea and land. By means of an 
alliance with the Cartbagininns, he drew auxiliaries 
even from Spain, Italy, and Gaul. The Carthagini- 
ans, who, at that time, had acquired an extensive 
military reputation, furnished him with an army of 
300,000 men, under the command of Hamilcar. Af- 
ter the most active preparations throughout his do- 
minions, tributaries and allies, he, in the sixth year 



PERSIA. 73 

of his reign, put his forces in motion, crossed the 
Hellespont on a bridge of boats, and encamped his 
army at the city Doriscus, by the mouth of the 
river Flebrus ; near which place he also drew togeth- 
er his naval armament. Here he made a general 
review of all his forces ; and which, according to 
many authors, consisted of 2,641,610 men, with up- 
wards of 1200 ships: and to this immense multi- 
tude, says Dr. Prideaux, if we add all the slaves, the 
women, the attendants, &:c. the number must exceed 
5,000,000, probably the greatest army ever brought 
into the field.* 

With this assemblage of nations, Xerxes advanced 
to the straits of Thermopylae, where, he was met by 
Leonidas, king of Sparta, and about 300 Lacedemo- 
nians, and as many Greeks as made up about 4000 
men. This handful of men defended the pass for two 
days, resisting every form of attack. The Greeks, 
however, growing weary of the unequal contest, at 
length all deserted Leonidas but his 300, and a few 
others. They stood their ground, and fought with 
amazing bravery, till every man was slain ; among 
whom was Leonidas himself. This dear-bought vic- 
tory cost the Persians 20,000 of their bravest men, 
and two of the brothers of Xerxes : nor could they 
be otherwise than astonished at the valor and forti- 
tude of the Greeks. 

To Leonidas the prize of valor has been allowed by 
all heroes, all ages, and nations. Many warriors have 
fought merely for fame, and have laid down their 
lives to gratity a mad ambition. Leonidas fought 
for his country. lie did not expect to conquer ; his 
object w^as to delay tlie enemy's progress, till his 
countrymen could assume a posture of defence. This 
object he gained, though he fell in the conflict. 

Passing the straits of Thermopylae, the Persian 
army, like the progress of a slow but mighty inunda- 

* This account of Prideaux is on the authority of Herodotus, 
Plutarch, and others ; but Uiodorus and Plinj make it less. 

7 



74 i'ERSIA, 

tion, advanced toward Athens, The Athenians, hav- 
ing consulted the Delphian Oracle, were directed to 
defend themselves by wooden walls. When all were 
in doubt concerning tho meaning of this response, 
says Cornelius Nepos, Themistocles, the Athenian 
general, told them, that the intention of the Oracle 
was, that they should defend themselves by ships. 
Accordingly, the Athenian and confederate fleet of 
Greece, amounting to about 300 sail, drew up in the 
straits of Salamis, where they encountered and totally- 
defeated the fleets of Persia, destroying many ships, 
and dispersing the rest. This battle has been justly 
celebrated by all historians. It was gained by the 
masterly policy of Themistocles, who drew the Per- 
sians to action in a disadvantageous place, and then, 
by a bravery nearly as magnanimous, and more for- 
tunate than that of Leonidas, obtained a complete 
victory. 

Xerxes now saw clearly what enemies he had to 
contend with ; and perceiving them entire masters of 
the sea, he was seized with the most alarming appre- 
hensions for his own safety, althoui^h encompassed 
by millions. Leaving an army of 300,000 men with 
Mardonius, his general, to prosecute the war, he hast- 
ened back to the Hellespont, lest his bridge of boats 
should be destroyed, and his retreat to his own do- 
minions for ever cut off*. On his arrival, as he feared, 
he found his bridge to have been broken by storms. 
Wherefore, in the utmost consternation for his safety 
among enemies so brave and intrepid, and for the 
preservation of his throne, which the nev\rs of his ill 
fortune would expose to some aspiring rebel, he 
crossed the same Hellespont, which he had lately 
covered with his fleets and armies, in a fishingf-boat, 
and returned home, covered with shame and infamy. 

Still fcir more complete was the defeat of that part 
of this great invasion conducted by Flamilcar, the 
Caithaginian already mentioned ; for, landing an 
army of ^300.000 men in Sicily, he was suddenly at- 



PERSIAr 76 

tacked by Gelo, king of Sicily, as he was celebrating 
a public feast, and his whole army was either slain, or 
made prisoners, and his fleet destroyed. Mardonius 
now only remained, to resist the concentrated forces 
of Greece, invincible by valor, and now formidable 
by numbers, although far inferior to the army of the 
Persians.* The Greeks, commanded by Pausanius 
and Aristides, pursued him now retiring out of Attica 
into Boeotia. They came to a general battle near 
Platasa, in which Mardonius Avas killed, and his army 
entirely cut off. It is remarkable, that on the same 
day, another battle was fought at sea, in which the 
Greeks were completely victorious, and the remain- 
der of the Persian fleet destroyed. 

Thus terminated the greatest expedition found in 
the annals of history. It can hardly be doubted, that, 
had the Greeks carried their arms into Persia, they 
might, at that time, have subverted the Persian empire. 

Xerxes, who deserved the appellation of grcat^ for 
little reason, except the greatness of his follies and 
vices, employed the remainder of his reign in in- 
glorious wars — in superstitions destructive to learn- 
ing and civility, and in intrigues and atrocities, as 
disgraceful to his throne, as injurious to his subjects. 

It will be found to be a just remark, that, as most 
nations have risen by industry and virtue, so they 
have fallen by luxury, indolence and vice. When the 
Persians were poor, hardy, industrious, brave, and vir- 
tuous, they enabled Cyrus to conquer and to govern 
Asia. But conquest and dominion rendered them 
vain and secure ; wealth made them luxurious and 
effeminate ; vice made them weak and contemp- 
tible. They had no longer a Cyrus to lead them to 
victory ; or, if they had, they were no longer a peo- 
ple capable of rising, by toil and discipline, to 
empire. But the Greeks themselves, not far from 
this period, had begun to feel the corrupting influ- 
ence of wealth and power. Long before the con- 
quest of Persia, they had passed the meridian of theh' 

* 140,000. 



76 PERSIA. 

power and glory ; nor could a hero spring but from 
the wilds of Macedon, to subdue the Persian ennpire. 

The conquest of Persia, by Alexander the Great, 
will be noticed under the review of Grecian histor}^. 
We shall, therefore, close this brief survey, by glanc- 
ing an eye at the state of the Persian territories, sub- 
sequent to Alexander's conquest. 

It has been already noticed, that Alexander, king 
of Macedon, above three centuries before the Chris- 
tian era, in the reign of Darius Codomanus, subdued 
Persia, and became master of all Western Asia. At 
the death of Alexander, his extensive dominions were 
divided among the chief generals of his army. Baby- 
lon, together with Media and Persia, fell to Seleucus. 

The Seleucidae, or kings of Syria, held for a few 
years the empire of Persia. Some of them even 
marched armies across the river Indus, with a view to 
maintain and extend their authority. But they could 
not govern what Alexander could subdue ; they could 
not even stand, where he could advance unmolested. 
Persia soon began to be governed by independent 
princes. Though under the name of Parthia, it was 
substantially the same. A dynasty of kings com- 
menced v^ith Arsaces. about 70 years after the con- 
quest of Persia by Alexander, 256 years before Christ. 
The Arsaridse held the seat of their government 
nearer to Media, than Persia. They were powerful 
and warlike — were generally more tlian a match for 
the kings of Syria, and even set bounds to the Roman 
arms. Mithridates, called the Great, was one of the 
most warlike monarchs of Asia. Me flourished about 
120 years before the Christian era ; and what is re- 
markable of him, he maintained a war with the Ro- 
mans 40 years, and according to Cicero's own decla- 
ration, among the enemies of Rome, was second to 
none but Hannibal. He was defeated by Pompey, 
on the plains of Pharsalia ; where it is remarkable 
that the fate of Europe and Asia has been decided 
three times, by three great and memorable battles j 



PERSIA. 77 

'by Pompey and Mithridates — Pompey and Cesar — 
Tamerlane and Bajazet.* Although Pompey tri- 
umphed over Mithridates, yet the Parthians survived, 
and were powerful even in the reign of Augustus, 
The Parthian kings of the dynasty of Arsaces, were 
still powerful, when the Romans began to decline. 
While the wretched and effeminate Heliogabalus 
reigned in Rome, about 223 years after Christ, Arta- 
banes, the thirty-second king of the Arsacidae, was 
deposed by Artaxerxes, in whom, it is said, the an- 
cient Persian monarchy was restored. The Persians, 
properly speaking, then flourished ; having like a 
phoenix, risen from the ashes of the ancient empire ; 
and the names of Sapor, Hormisdas, and Chosroes, 
make a figure in history, and were famous in their 
times, while the Roman empire was in its decline, 
and after its overthrow by the Goths and Vandals. 
The dynasty of Artaxerxes flourished about 400 
years, under twenty-five kings, until Jesdegirdes, in 
the year of Christ 632, was deposed and slain by the 
followers of Mahomet. They held the government 
of that country, till conquered by Tamerlane, the 
great cham of Tartary, in 1396. Since that time 
the Persians have had various masters, and some 
very bad ones, and have undergone numerous revolu- 
tions. We have seen little of the Persian history 
during the middle ages. From all we can learn they 
must have fared better than the Roman empire ; and 
if we except China, no nation has stood its ground 
through all ages better than Persia. 

The Persians probably experienced their nltimate 
point of depression before the Christian era ; they 
certainly were powerful when Rome fell, and, though 
conquered by Mahomet's followers, and by Tamer- 
lane, they have been able to resist some of the most 
powerful and warlike nations of modern times, the 
Turks and Russians. 

* Tameriane defeated Bajazet near x4ncona ia Asia Minor, at a 
considerable distance from Pharsalist — Ep. 



78 ANCIENT GREECE'.* 



CHAPTER X. 

ANCIENT GREECE, EROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE 
LEGISLATION OF LYCURGUS. 

TO unite perspicuity with brevity, in drawing the 
great line of Grecian history, will be difficult ; es- 
pecially if we regard separately the states and colo- 
nies; the traditional history of each, their high an- 
tiquity, and their various alliances, wars, and revo- 
lutions. The history of this wonderful people, is 
better known than that of those who went before \ 
them, and is surely of much greater importance. 
To their surprising genius, the world is indebted, in 
a measure, for the knowledge of the arts and sciences. 
In architecture, sculpture, poetry, and oratory, and in 
the arts and sciences necessary to the perfection of \ 
those branches, they stand uniivalled. We may say 
of them, they invented, improved, and perfected. 
They so far perfected, that they have never been 
excelled. 

The territories of ancient Greece seem to have 
possessed every advantage which situation, soil and 
climate, can give a nation. Comprehending what is 
now called Turkey in Europe, they were skirted 
northwardly by German and Scythian nations; east- 
wardly lay the Black Sea, the straits of Bosphorus, the 
Hellespont, and the Archipelago; southwardly their 
country was washed by the Mediterranean, and west 
by the Adriatic or Gulf of Venice. A narrow sea 
separated them eastwardly from the shores of Lesser 
Asia, where Troy once flourished; which, together 
with many rich provinces, became Grecian colonies. 
Their climate, which was anciently somewhat more 
cool than it is now, was salubrious, their sky general- 
ly serene, their air pure, and their soil fruitful. 
Their lofty mountains and rugged hills, the variety 
in the face of their country, the abundance and 



ANCIENT GREECE. 

purity of their springs and rivulets, and all in a cli- 
mate and soil so fine and genial, formed an immense 
variety of wild and charming prospects, in which 
sublimity and beauty were united. 

No country was ever better calculated to promote 
and reward industry, to foster genius, to fire imagina- 
tion^r to rouse the mind to exertion. The prox- 
imity of seas, and a variety of excellent harbors, 
early prompted the Greeks to a spirit of naval enter- 
prise, and enabled them to realize the benefits of ex- 
tensive commerce, wealth, knowledge, and politeness. 

The country of ancient Greece, was inhabited 
more than eighteen centuries before the Christian 
era : but for a thousand years of that period, its his- 
tory is not only traditional but fabulous, and for the 
most part utterly incredible. The Grecian fables 
and traditions, brought down from the heroic age, far 
excel everj^ thing else of the kind. Nothing, indeed, 
can be more absurd, false and ridiculous, than most of 
them are; yet theglowing imagination of Ihe Greeks 
has rendered them an interesting part of Grecian 
literature to the classical scholar. But as the relation 
of them would not consist with the brevity of this 
work, so neither would it increase its utility. In- 
deed, as this historical sketch is designed to follow 
the course of empire, our work would hardly strike 
into the history of Greece, till near the conquest of 
Persia by Alexander. 

The commonwealth of Athens, so renowned for 
military achievements, and so illustrious for improve- 
ment in the liberal arts and sciences, was founded by 
Cecrops, 1450 years before Christ,* About the 
same time, Cadmus, the Phoenician, introduced al- 
phabetic writing into Greece, and founded Thebes 

> 

* Chronologers differ widely in their opinions concerning the 
time, when Cecrop? flourished. Some make it upwards of fifteen 
centuries before Christ; some bett^er than fourteen. Dr. Priestly, 
after Newton, makes it but about eleven and one fourth. I have 
followed the most prevailing authorities. The probability i?, 
iihat the exact time is not known. 



S6» ANCIENT GREECE. 

in Boeotia, Danaus also founded Argos ; and Pelops^ 
a Phrvfi^ian, whose descendants, intermarrying with 
those of Tyndarus, king of Lacedemon or Sparta, ac- 
quired to that family theas* endency for many centu- 
ries, in the peninsula of Greece. Cecrops and 
Danaus were emiii^rants from Egypt ; Cadmus was 
from Phoenicia, and Pelops from Phrygia ; so„that 
the four most ancient and powerful cities of Greece, 
viz. Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Argos, were founded 
and for a lougj time governed by dynasties of foreign 
princes. 'J iieir names, exploits, and misfortunes, are 
immortalized by the sublime genius of Homer. Not 
far from this period, Deucalion reigned in 1 hessaly. 
From the name of his son Hellen, a considerable 
portion of the ancient Greeks were called Hellenes ; 
and, from Dorus, Eolus, and Ion, some of his more 
remote descendants, they were distinguished into 
Dorians, Eolians, and lonians. 

Before the arrival of Cecrops, Danaus, Cadmus, 
and other adventurers in Greece, its inhabitants 
were savage, barbarous, and unconnected ; living en- 
tirely in a state of nature, without laws, civilization, 
or any forms of social order. But those enterprising 
chiefs, coming from more enlightened regions, and 
bringing with them the first rudiments of science, 
were able, by policy or by arms, to establish their au- 
thority among those rude tribes and savage clans. 
They collected them together, built Gities,and founded 
many useful institutions, tending to ameliorate their 
barbarous state. But if these adventurers found it 
ditficult to reduce those tribes into a well regulated 
state of society, under the mild influence of laws, 
it was still more difficult to defend them from the in- 
cursions of the more wild and ferocious tribes bor- 
dering upon them. They were fierce and warlike; 
knew little of agriculture ; roved from place to place, 
and subsisted by rapine and plunder. 

Two circumstances in those times greatly quicken- 
ed the progress of the Greeks in various useful arts j 



ANCIENT GREECE. 81. 

the discovery of the use of iron, and the extension 
of the knowledge of alphabetic writing. The former 
enabled them to construct instruments of agriculture 
and commerce ; and the latter to diffuse and improve 
the general means of knowledge. Yet the advan- 
tages arising from alphabetic writing, were far less 
rapid in those times, than one would imagine, since, 
according to Herodotus, a s} stem of written laws was 
not promulgated in Greece till about the sixth cen- 
turj before the Christian era — a circumstance truly 
surprising, considering the progress of the Greeks in 
the scionce of government, at a much earlier period, 
and the strength and quickness of their inventive 
powers. 

The ancient Greeks have the honor of exhibiting 
to the world the first example of a political confede- 
ration, founded in reason, and matured upon princi- 
ples, whose strength and excellence gave permanency 
to the institution, as well as to the several slates and 
-governments existing under its irifluence. The coun- 
try of Thessaly had been governed by Deucalion ; 
and his descendants, as already noticed, founded the 
Dorians, Eolians, and lonians. This country lay far 
north of the Hellenetic tribes, and was continually 
exposed to the incursions of the warlike savages on 
their borders. To provide more effectual means of 
defence against these dangerous irruptions, the lead- 
ers of several tribes or states entered into a confede- 
racy for mutual delence. Their place of meeting, 
which was semi-annual, was at Thermopyla?. a place 
rendered ever famous by the unparalleled bravery of 
Leonidas. The kin^r of Thermopylae, at that time, 
w^as Amphictyon. Hence they were called the Am- 
phictyonic council. This combination, while it did 
not interfere essentially with the independence of 
the several states, served as a grand political centre, 
combining the energies, uniting the policy, and har- 
monizing the movements of tho whole. By means 
of this, the Greeks were at length formed into one 



82 ANCIENT GREECE. 

• 

grand confederated republic ; for, although it origi- 
nated without the peninsula, by modern geographers 
called the Morea, its advantages were soon perceived, 
and the central states of Peloponnesus, the Spartans 
and Argives, became members of it, and by the mid- 
dle of the fourteenth century before Christ, most of 
the states of Greece followed their example. 

The members of the Amphictyonic league, for a 
considerable time, were fully employed in regulating 
their own governments, and repelling the invasions 
of their hostile neighbors. But at length the restless 
and active spirit of a warlike people, began to extend 
its views to conquest, and its desires were expanded 
"with a thirst of glory. About 1260 years before 
Christ, took place the celebrated expedition of the 
Argonauts, headed by Jason, a Thessalian chieftain, 
and by the fathers of the celebrated warriors, who 
shone in the siege of Troy. But, passing over this, 
as also over the exploits of Theseus and other warriors 
of that heroic age, we shall, to gratify the taste of the 
juvenile reader, be a little more particular in relating 
some of the leading circumstances of the Trojan war. 

Previously to the commencement of this war, the 
Greeks had made considerable progress in the arts, 
both of war and peace. Their savage manners were 
softened ; their internal policy was regulated by the 
maxims of justice. In their manners, customs, and 
religion, they were similar ; and their united coun- 
cils gave wisdom, energy, and dispatch to their move- 
ments. Seven independent states occupied at this 
time the peninsula of Greece, although it was but 
300 miles long, and 140 in breadth. These were 
Messenia, Elis, Arcadia, Corinth, Achaia, Argos, and 
the powerful kingdom of Sparta. The Grecian ter- 
ritories without the peninsula, were more extensive, 
being 260 miles from east to west, and 160 from 
north to south ; comprehending Thessaly, Attica, 
JEtolia, and sundry other provinces. 

The kingdom of Troy lay on the eastern shores of 
the Hellespont, the southern coast of the Propontis, 



ANCIENT GREFXE. 8^ 

and in general the territories of the Lesser Phrygia. 
The Trojans were of Grecian extraction. Their em- 
pire was founded hy Dardanus, about 900 years be- 
fore this period. Hence, they were called Dardans ; 
and their country Dardania. Ericthonius, the son of 
Dardanus, was succeeded by Tros. Hence, they 
were called Trojans. The son of Tros was llus, 
from \\hom Troy was named Ilion. llus was suc- 
ceeded by Laomedon. and he by liis son Priam, 
(ipriam, after a long and prosperous reign, was destined 
to see the ruin of his kingdom, the extirpation of his 
race, and to fall by the victorious sword of the Greeks. 
It is generally agreed that a hereditary enmity had 
subsisted between the Greeks and Trojans. Paris, 
the son of Priam, the most beautiful man of his time, 
having been allured by th<^ pRme of Helen, the qeeen 
of Sparta, went over into Greece, and visited the 
Spartan court. Helen is ceU brated by the poets, as 
possessing every personal charm in its highest per- 
fection, and as the most perfect beauty of ancient 
times. Her susceptible heart was too easily capti- 
vated by the artful address and polished manners of 
the perfidious Paris. She listened to his insinuations, 
and lost to a sense of honor and duty, she made her 
escape with him, and took refuge amidst the towers 
of Troy. The king of Sparta, stung with the treach- 
ery of his beauteous queen, whom he adored, and en- 
raged at the baseness and perfidy of the Trojan 
prince, to whom he had shown all the rights of 
hospitality, loudly complained of the injury, and ap- 
pealed to the justice of his countrymen. His brother 
Agamemnon, the most powerful prince of Greece, 
seconded his complaints, and used liis influence and 
authority to rouse the resentment of the whole 
extensive confederation He succeeded : for the 
princes and people of Greece, no less wounded in 
their pride than stung with a sense of t! e atrocious 
villany, determined to extinguish the flames of their 
: resentment in the blood of Priam and his people^ 
1 who refused to restore the illustrious fugitive. 



84 ANCIENT GREECE. ^ 

We shall not detail the particulars of this war. 
Those, for whom this work is designed, will find them 
at length in their proper place, in a course of reading. 
It shall suffice to say, that a powerful army was sent 
to wage war with the Trojans ; but the enterprise 
was found to be attended with unforeseen difficulties. 
The Trojans were a brave and gallant people, of 
considerable resources, and very great courage. 
Hector, the son of Priam, equalled only by Achilles, 
commanded the Trojans, and often disputed the field 
of victory, with invincible bravery, and various suc- 
cess ; and when, after the death of Hector, the Tro- 
jans could no longer keep the field, the city of Troy 
was defended by lofty towers and impregnable walls. 

Homer is the chief and almost the only authority 
on the Trojan war, which, if it ever existed, would 
have been lost in oblivion, but for his pen. Among 
other things in praise of Homer, strength and sub- 
limity of genius must certainly be ranked ; but amia- 
bleness of character cannot be reckoned, nor yet the 
fair impartial openness of the historian. His par- 
tiality is often so glaring, as to involve him in gross 
absurdities. While he seems impatient and loath to 
allow the Trojans any military merit, and is ever dis- 
posed to accuse them of meanness and the basest 
cowardice, he enrols the Grecian heroes with gods, 
because they could conquer them. The honor of 
the conqueror is commonly measured by the great- 
ness and potency of the enemy he conquers. Ho- 
mer certainly loses sight of this principle, and es- 
pecially in the character of Hector, who, in his last 
encounter with Achilles, is compelled by the niosci- 
less partiality of the poet, to act a more pitilu! c; w- 
ardly part, than we sliould have reason to look for in 
the conduct of the meanest soldier in a modern army. 
Instead of fighting Achilles, like a man, he is made to 
turn on his heels and run in a cowardly manner. 
The mighty Trojan at length run down, like a sheep 
pursued by a wolf, is quietly butchered. Now the 



ANCIENT GREECE. tt* 

meanest scullion in the late army of Mack, would not 
have shewed himself so great a dastard. 

The fortune of Greece prevailed ; not however by 
arms, but by stratagem. The Greeks, worn out by a 
war of ten years, determined to risk their hopes on 
one desperate effort, which, if successful, would end 
the war in victory ; if not, would exterminate all 
hope of conquest, for the prfsent, if not forever. 
They made preparations for returning home, embark- 
ed in their ships, and set sail ; but they left near the 
city a wooden horse, constructed of vast size, in 
which was enclosed a band of ttieir bravest heroes. 
This image, they pretended as an offrrin^ to the 
goddess Minerva^ to be placed in the Trojan citadel. 
To give effect to this stratagem, Sinon is despatched 
over to the Ti'ojans, with an artful and fictitious story, 
pretending he had made his escape from the Greeks. 
The superstition of the times gave them complete 
success. The whim struck the Trojans favorably. 
They laid open their walls, and, by various means, 
dragged the baneful monster, pregnant with destruc- 
tion, into the city. 

That night was spent in festivity through Troy. 
Every guard was withdravv'n; ail threw aside their 
arms: and, dissolved in wine, amusement, pleasure, 
and repose, gave t\ill effect to the hazardous enter- 
prise of the hardy Greeks. The fleet, in the night 
time, drew back to the shore ; the men landed and 
approached the city ; the heroes in the wooden horse 
sallied forth, killed what few they met, opened the 
city-gates, and the Greeks entered. The night, which 
was begun in feasting and carousal, ended in confla- 
gration and blood. The various parts of this daring 
plan, liable to great uncertainties and embarrassments, 
were concentrated and made effectual by the signal of 
a torch shown from a conspicuous tower by Helen her- 
self, the perfidious beauty, who had caused tlic war. 

This story, as to its leading parts, is probably 
founded in fact : whether it is so or not, it does the 
8 



86 ANCIENT GREECE. 

• 

highest honor to the genius of the poet by whom it is 
related^ if true, or invented, if fabulous. 

Never was national vengeance more exemplary, or 
ruin more complete. The destruction of Troy took 
place 1184 years before the Christian era. This 
fall of the Trojan empire, was final. Independence 
and sovereignty never returned to those delightful 
shores ; nor has that country since made any figure 
in history. It continued to be possessed and coloniz- 
ed by the Greeks, while they flourished, and follow- 
ed the fortunes and revolutions of the great empires. 

If the charms of Helen proyed the destruction of 
Troy, yet the Greeks themselves, though they were 
able to punish her seducer, had little reason to boast 
of their conquest, or glory in their revenge. On 
their return, their fleets were dispersed, and many of 
their ships wrecked on dangerous coasts. Some of 
them wandered through long voyages, and settled in 
foreign parts. Some became pirates, and infested 
the seas with formidable depredations. A few, and 
but a few of them, returned to their homes, where 
fortunes equally disastrous followed them. Their 
absence, for a course of years, had quite altered the 
scene of things; as it had opened the way to con- 
spiracies, usurpations, and exterminating revolutions. 
Their vacant thrones had been filled by usurpers ; 
and their dominions, left defenceless, had fallen a 
prey to every rapacious plunderer. The states of 
Greece^ which, at the beginning of the Trojan war, 
were rising fast to prosperity, power and happiness, 
were overwhelmed with calamities, and seemed re-^ 
turning rapidly to savage barbarity. 

The institution of the Olympic games, their nature, 
and important influence on society, together with the 
character, laws, and institutions of Lycurgus, next 
meet the eye in tracing the great line of Grecian 
history. But these events are too far distant in the 
region of uncertainty, where real historical light 
holds a doubtful reign with fable and fiction, to mei'it 



J 



ANCIENT GREECE. 87 

an extended place in these sketches ; and, were they 
differently situated, they would lead us into details, 
far too minute and extensive for a work of this nature. 

Not to seem, however, utterly to neglect a matter 
so extensive in its influence, and so lasting in its 
consequences to Greece as the legislation of Lycurgus, 
we shall close this chapter with a general view of the 
character and institutions of that great man. 

We have already seen the deplorable state of 
Greece after the Trojan war. It will be proper to 
remark here, that the tumults, revolutions, and 
calamitous events of those times, no less encouraged 
the savage enterprises of banditti, robbers, and 
pirates, than they roused the genius and talents of 
men of great and virtuous minds. In the midst of 
these convulsions, the Delphian Oraele had ordered 
a general armistice, and that certain games should 
be revived, or more properly formed into a regular 
and permanent institution. The lively and flexible 
genius of the Greeks, ambitious, fond of amusement, 
of competition, of pomp and glory, was animated 
with the proposal. All thoughts of hostility were 
immediately laid aside in the general preparation for 
this splendid festival, which was to last five days, 
and to be begun and ended in the worship of Olym- 
pian Jove. The most important of the Olympic 
games, were wrestling, boxing, pancratium, coit, foot 
race, horse race, and chariot race. Of these, the 
•pancratium, which united boxing and wrestling, was 
the most dangerous and terrible, and the chariot race, 
by far the most honorable of all. Iphitus, prince of 
EHs, seconded by the countenance and advice of 
Lycurgus, the Spartan law-giver, was the second 
founder of this noble institution. A large and beau-- 
tiful plain near Olympia, in the Peloponnesus, was 
chosen for the purpose. Here a gymnasium was 
erected ; and all the plain was adorned with gardens, 
porticoes, columns, and arches, to render the scene 
as delightful and grand, as possible. In a word, these 



88 > ANCIENT GREECE. 

games were frequented by an assemblage of nations; 
and to be a conqueror here, inflamed the ambition of 
mankind more than the honors of war or govern- 
ment. 

Lycurgus, moved by the miseries of his country- 
men, and induced to hope success from his know- 
ledge of their genius and character, formed the grand 
design of reducing them to order, under a new form 
of government, and a new code of laws; the objects 
of which seem to have been to promote civil liberty 
and justice, public and personal safety, and military 
glory. 

After regulating the various powers of government 
in reference to those important objects, he proceeded 
to introduce an agrarian law, causing an equal divi- 
sion of lands among the people. He abolished the 
currency of gold and silver, and allowed no money to 
be used but iron. He prohibited every article of 
luxury — greatly improved the Spartan soldiery and 
mode of fighting, and raised the Spartan common- 
wealth to the highest eminence of military fame. 
But the spirit of his laws, and maxims of his govern- 
ment, resembled more the severity of military disci- 
pline, than the mild and gentle w^isdom of civil policy ; 
and, allowing them their utmost merit, they tended 
rather to convert a being of tender sensibilities and 
fine and noble alFertions, into a cold, unlovely ma- 
chine of reason, apathy, and stern justice. But the 
Greeks, in those times, would have rejected a plan 
r divested of all the errors to be found in that of Ly- 
|i, curgus. It is impossible to civilize a nation «t once; 
\ and indeed, the laws of Lycurgus, considerinis: the 
''time when they were formed, and the effects they 
;^'^|)roduced on society, can be ree-irded in no other 
jight than as an astonishing disjjlay of wisdom, ener- 
gy, and virtue. 



ANCIENT GREECE. 80 



CHAPTER XL 

ANCIENT GREECE, FROM THE LEGISLATION OF LYCUR- 
GUS, TILL THE ISSUE OF THE PERSIAN INVASION, 

WHOEVER surveys the Grecian history, will im- 
mediately perceive the inequality of the states, of 
which their grand confederacy was composed. Some 
of them were large and powerful ; others were small 
and perpetually exposed to injustice and insult from 
their haughty neighbors. The Lacedemonians first, 
then the Athenians, and at last the Thebans, were at 
the head of the confederacy; directed their councils; 
led their armies; often drew them into wars; indeed 
conquered and enslaved some of them ; and perpetu- 
ally aiming at directing the helm in all public concerns. 

Ambition is natural to man ; nor does it ever ap* 
pear more evident, or more odious, than in the 
conduct of the popular leaders of democratic con- 
federacies. They cherish what they disclaim, and 
are, in- all respects, what they would be thought not 
to be. The artful demagogue has substantial reasons 
for preferring democracy to monarchy. In the ..lat- 
ter, he has no hopes ; in the former, experience sug- 
gests to him, that the more noisy he is for liberty, 
the more certainly he shall enjoy all the sweets of 
power; and he well knows, that the more he flatters 
his blind devotees, the more certainly will they suf- 
fer their eyes to be closely veiled, and the more 
implicitly will they obey his mandates. 

Among the ancient histories, none are so impor- 
tant, or contain such useful instruction, as that of 
Greece. There the ambition, the haughtiness, the 
injustice of large states, and the inconveniences, de- 
pressions, and final subjugation of small ones, afford 
a solemn warning to our own free and happy coun- 
try. In the present chapter we shall take a brief 
survey of the Grecian history, from the times of Ly- 



90 ANCIENT GREECE. 

curgus till the defeat of the Persians at the battle of 
Fiaiaea, anci tiu issue of the Persian invasion. 

Neither the benign influence of the Olympic 
games, of the laws of Lycurgus, nor the Amphicty- 
onic council, could preserve them from the rage of 
civil war. The power and ambition of the Lacede- 
monians, soon drew on them the jealousy of their 
sister states. A quarrel breaking out between them 
and the Messenians, a rich and populous province, 
lying on the western shores of the Peloponnesus, a 
long and desolating war ensued. Both parties were 
exasperated by a series of injuries ; and it became 
at length, on both sides, a war of passion, as well as 
of interest, and of extermination as well as of con- 
quest. The Lacedemonians fought for interest, 
revenge and glory ; the Messenians, over and above 
all these, had still more powerful motives ; they 
fought for independence, life and fortune. 

Though fortune seemed early to incline to the 
Spartan cause, as they were evidently an overmatch 
for their adversaries, jet no advantage was gained 
but by the greatest efforts, nor maintained but by the 
utmost vigilance. The ground was always disputed 
with the tiercest conflict; and every victory was 
dearly bought. At length, however, overpowered 
by t!>e steady vigor and diseipiine of the Spartan 
armies, they were driven from the (ield, and besieged 
in th( ir capital, Ithome, which, after a brave resis- 
tance, was forced by famine to surrender. 

The wretched Messenians, who escaped the sword, 
went into voluntary exile, or became slaves ; and 
their valua!)le territories were quietly possessed by 
their haughty conquerors. The Lacedemonians, 
having n )w glutted their vengeance, and enriched 
their treasures by the spoils of a sister state, enjoyed 
repose for thirty years. 

How difficult it is to conquer a nation of freemen ! 
to repress the energies, and crush the spirit of a peo- 
ple determined to be free. After groaning in iervi- 



ANCIENT GREECE. 91 

tude, and feeling the iron grasp of oppression thirty 
years, the Messenians revolted, shook off the yoke, 
and were able to maintain a war still more formi- 
dable, and by far more doubtful and threatening on 
the side of Sparta. They had previously drawn 
into their alliance the Arrives and Arcadians, who 
promised them the most eifectual aid they could give. 

They were commanded by Aristomenes, a general 
whose wisdom and temperance could only be equal- 
led by his intrepid bravery. But we cannot descend 
to particulars. The dispute was long and bloody, 
seeming often to threaten the existence of the Spar- 
tan commonwealth ; but fortune at last declared a 
second time against the unhappy Messenians. The 
steady discipline and invincible courage, and great 
resources of Lacedemon prevailed; and the Messe- 
nians, borne down by inevitable destiny, forsook the 
field, dispersed, abandoned their ancient abodes, and 
sought refuge in foreign countries, where a brave 
and enterprising spirit obtained for many of them an 
honorable settlement. Their brave and generous 
leader, Aristomenes, after a course of adventures, 
ended his life at Sardis. " Other generals,*' says Dr. 
Gillies, " have defended their country with better 
success, but none with greater glory ; other charac- 
ters are more fully delineated in ancient history, but 
none are more deserving of immortal fame." The 
conquest of Messenia, by the Spartans, took place 
about 670 years before the Christian era. 

From this period to the defeat of Crtesus, kins: of 
Lydia, by Cyrus, as related in a former chapter, 
comprehending about one hundred and twenty 
years, a scries of events arose, of high importance to 
the Greeks ; and in which vast accessions of light 
are thrown over the histories of Europe and Asia. 
During this period the Assyrian monarchy became 
extinct ; the Persian arose to the empire of Asia ; and 
the Jewish monarchy, having been overthrown, had 
experienced a depression and captivity of 70 years. 



92 ANCIENT GREECE. 

The forms of government in Greece had, som^^ 
time previously to this, been changed, and theii 
monarchies, or rather tyrannies, had given place to 
democratical republics. The human mind, seeming- 
ly slow in the progress of discovery, yet rapid in the 
improvement of discoveries, when made, or of hints 
leading to them, seemed, first among the Greeks, and 
not far from this period, to acquire just views of its 
own natural and inherent rights. As men are nearly 
of equal size and strength of body ; as there is a 
general similarity in their mental endowments ; as 
they are actuated by like desires and aversions, pains 
and pleasures ; so they are naturally entitled to equal 
rights, privileges and enjoyments. 

The cont^ideralion, that the monarch's power ex- 
ists onlj by tlie consent of his subjects, induced the 
Greeks, when they saw that power abused, to with- 
draw from it their support. Pursuing the same course 
of thinking, they were able, at last, to project various 
forms of government, resembling each other as to 
the origin, the distribution, and the end of supreme 
power. As they saw clearly, that all power, in its 
first principles, was in the people, and that it should 
only be exercised for the good of the community, 
they contrived to distribute it among various persons, 
who should act by delegation, as servants of the 
public, and who should be responsible to the public 
for their conduct. This may be called a government 
of checks. 

The wars, carried on during this period by the 
states of Greece, can by no means have a place in 
this compend : for although the ambitious, restless 
and enterprising Greeks were continually agitated by 
feuds and quarrels, arising from their schemes of 
aggrandizement, both in the grand council of 
Amphictyons and in the several states, yet they were 
engaged in no wars of considerable moment. The 
sacred war (so called) became interesting and im- 
portant, as it gave rise to the establishment of the 
famous Pythian games. 



ANCIENT GREECE. 93 

The commonwealth of Crissa, a small state, lay 
near the famous temple and oracle of Delphi. Al- 
though that oracle was highly venerated by all Greece, 
and many other nations, yet the Crisseans, allured 
b^ the immense treasures deposited there, as offerings 
to the god of wisdom, fell upon, took and plun- 
dered that sacred place. A thrill of horror spread 
through all Greece, together with the strongest emo- 
tions of anger, grief, indignation, and revenge. The 
promiscuous blood of age and innocence, and the 
violation of humanity, honor and modesty, were for- 
gotten in the enormous and dreadful guilt of so great 
a sacrilege. 

To the Amphictyonic council, it belonged to pre- 
scribe what measures should be taken to punish this 
unparalleled outrage. Yet such were the dissensions, 
the political interests, and more probably the cor- 
rupting power of gold, that that venerable body were 
at much difficulty, before they could resolve on 
proper measures. 

At length, however, they were roused by the elo- 
quence and authority of Solon, one of the Athenian 
representatives, to punish this crime against religion 
and mankind. But indecision in their councils ren- 
dered their proceedings slow; nor was it till after 
considerable time was spent, that the Crisseans were 
besieged in their capital, and ultimately destroyed ; 
their cities demolished, and their soil condemned to 
perpetual sterility. 

In gratitude to the gods for the fortunate issue of 
the Crissean or sacred war, the council of Amphic- 
tyons instituted the Pythian games, which were cele- 
brated with a pomp and splendor Uttle inferior to the 
Olympic. The termination of this war, and the in- 
stitution of those celebrated games, took place 
about 590 years before Christ, in the second ^'car 
of the forty-seventh Olympiad, and about three yenrs 
before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchad-^ 
Jiezzar. 



04 ANCIENT GREECE. 

We are now drawing near to that period, in which 
Greece enjoyed the meridian of her glory. The wis- 
dom of her councils formed a powerful confederacy, 
equal in strength to the greatest empires ; yet being 
divided into small, independent governments, the 
lawless ambition of individuals found less room for 
action, while personal virtue and enterprise were 
more secure of a due reward. Greece, having pass- 
ed thi'ough a long and dubious infancy, began now 
to feel the vigorous bloom of youth, to display a de- 
termined character, and to assume that commanding 
attitude, which never fails to excite confidence, vene- 
ration, and respect. 

We have already noticed the soil, climate, and 
general features of that country, which was to cherish 
the first of the ancient nations. No subject is more 
wrapt in darkness, than the origin of the ancient lan- 
guages : yet it will scarcely be allowed to be conjec- 
ture, when we assert, that the Greek language, from 
its earliest stages, seems to have been the most per- 
fect, which nature ever formed, or divine wisdom 
ever inspired. Its copiousness and strength were no 
less adapted to the boldest eloquence, than its varie- 
gated and harmonious tones to every species of 
poetry. In no language was the grave and dignified 
style of history and moral sentiment, the native 
spirit and life of drama, or the wit and pungency of 
satire, ever better supported. 

All the natural advantages of the Greeks seem to 
have been calculated to extend the mind, to strength- 
en all its faculties, and especially to elevate and em- 
bolden the imagination. The country was well 
formed to yield an easy subsistence to its inhabitants ; 
their government, to cherish genius, and their lan- 
guage was that of poetry and oratory. 

Soon after the institution of the Pythian games, the 
genius of Greece began to display its power, and 
shoot forth all its beauties. The works of the im- 
mortal Homer had been read and admired : indeed 



ANCIENT GREECE. 95 

they had marked their path with light ; enkindling 
at once the hero, the lover, the philosopher, and the 
legislator, wherever they came. But now appeared 
in succession, Archilochus, Terpander, Sappho, Si- 
monides, Alcaeus, Stersichorus, Anacreon, and Pin- 
dar ; and many others whose names and eulogy 
might fill a volume. Their variegated strains unfold- 
ed every form of genius, wandered through every 
field of fancy, extracted sweetness from every blossom 
of nature, and adapted their harmonious numbers to 
every tone of melody, from the thunders of the war- 
like muse, to the melting accents of the lyre. 

Astonishing were the effects produced by the com- 
bined influence of so many happy causes. The arts 
and sciences, and whatever might be expected to 
arise from the best intellectual culture, now began to 
flourish in manly maturity. Perhaps what we ascribe 
to superior strength of mind in the ancients, was 
rather the effect of their amazing industry, and the 
energy and ardor with which they pursued the ob- 
jects of knowledge. The moderns, compared with 
them in this respect, have cause to blush at their own 
indolence. The Greeks, however, invented, improv- 
ed, and perfected : and that especially in those walks 
of science, where strength and sublimity of mind are 
most needful. As a proof of this, we need only men- 
tion the names of Homer, Demosthenes, Alexander, 
Solon, Pythagoras, Miltiades, Praxiteles, and Phidias : 
we mention them not in the order of time. 

In a former chapter we have given a sketch of the 

Lydian monarchy, founded by Candaules, and ended 

in the couquest of Crcesus, by Cyrus, king of Persia. 

,j Although the Lydians were a nation given to diss!- 

ji pation and thrjTiost voluptuous pleasures, yet they 

were, at this pehod, brave, enterprising and warlike; 

and now, commanded by Croesus, a prince highly re- 

jnowned for military and civil accomplishments. The 

jGreeks of Asia, if not in Europe also, must soon have 

lexperienced inconvenience from the growing power 



96 ANCIENT GREECE. 

• 

of Croesus, whose conquests, power, and splendor, far 
eclipsed those of his predecessors. But a much more 
terrible power was preparing by Providence to ex- 
tinguish for ever the light of Croesus, and to change 
the whole face of things in Western Asia. We have 
already spoken of Cyrus. In this place it shall suffice 
to say, that his interference forever delivered the 
Greeks from danger as to the Lydians, but gave them 
a neighbor in himself and successors, much more for- 
midable. The states of Greece were duly apprized 
of this, and were unwilling to make so disadvantage- 
ous a change. 

While the storm of the Persian invasion was gath- 
ering, Croesus had applied to the Greeks, and espe- 
cially to the Lacedemonians, for aid. Willing that 
the powers of Asia siiould check and balance each 
other, they were determined with their utmost efforts 
to prop his falling throne. But the celerity of Cyrus 
defeated their intentions ; for before their auxiliaries 
Could arrive, the decisive blow was struck, and the 
kingdom of Croesus at an end. The aspect of things 
now seemed to promise, that there should soon be , 
collision of powers between the Greeks and Persians; ; 
but it is highly probable that Cyrus was willing to i 
decline an attempt to subjugate that hardy race ; 
and especially as Greece presented far weaker al- 
lurements than the kingdom of Babylon, and the 
wealthy cities of Asia. 

After the conquest of Lydia, while Cyrus was med- 
itating the subjugation of the Asiatic Greeks, he re- 
ceived an embassy from Sparta, with a messa:i;e emi- 
nently characteristic of that bold and intrepid people. 
The messenger, in a style truly laconic, told Cyrus, 
that if he committed hostilities agal. st any of the 
Grecian cities, the Lacedemonian republic would 
know how to punish his injustice. It is said that 
Cyrus, astonished at the insolence of the message, 
demanded who the Lacedemonians were. This af- 
fected ignorance was rather designed to express hi^ 



ANCIENT GREECE. 9t 

contempt, than to gain information. He well knew 
who thej were. When he was informed they were 
one of the states of the Grecian peninsula, he made 
a reply to the ambassadors, which contained a severe 
and just sarcasm upon their national character. He 
told them, " that he should never fear men, who had 
a square in the midst of their city, in which they met 
together to practice mutual falsehood and deception ; 
and that if he continued to enjoy the blessings of 
health, he hoped to afford them more domestic rea- 
sons of complaint, than his military preparations 
aijainst the Greeks of Asia." 

The Greeks of Asia soon fell a prey to Harpagus, 
whom Cyrus left behind him, with a powerful army, 
to complete the conquest of these countries, while he 
himself, now burning with ambition, directed his 
march towards Babylon. 

For a period of nearly forty years ensuing the tak- 
ing of Sardis, the Lydian capital, nothing will be no- 
ticed in the history of Greece. And here it will be 
proper to remark, that the commonwealth of Sparta, 
which, since the close of the Messenian war, had 
holden the first place among the Gr<^cian states, wfis 
now evidently falling behind that of Athens, and that 
the latter was fast rising in wealth, learning, power 
and influence to the supremacy of Greece ; an ascen- 
dency owing to her commercial enterprise. 

The short and splendid reign of Cyrus, after the 
reduction of Babylon, seems to have been fully em- 
pb)yed in settling the affairs of his extensive domin- 
ions. Nor is it probable, that in an empire of such 
extent, he had leisure, or much inclination, to di- 
rect his attention to so inconsiderable an object as 
the Peloponnesus. The Greeks, therefore, remained 
in a measure occupied in their own domestic con- 
cerns, till, in the reign of Darius Hystaspes, an op- 
portunity presented for the Asiatic colonies to throw 
off the Persian yoke. That monarch had detrrr^jin- 
cd on an invasion of the Scythians, a warlike race of 
9 



98 ANCIENT GREECE. 

people, whose first irruption into the coujitries oi 
Asia, took place in the reign of Cyaxares the first, as 
already noticed, Darius, meditating revenge for an- 
cient, as well as recent, injuries, at the head of 
700.000 men, traversed Asia Minor, crossed the Bos- 
phorus of Thrace, and was presently seen on the 
banks of the Danube. Over that broad river, he laid 
a bridge of boats, and crossing it, plunged with his 
immense army into the wilds of Europe. Having 
spent several months in fatiguing marches, vain pur- 
suits, incessant labors, and continual alarms, he found 
his army greatly impaired, their numbers diminished, 
and their spirits wasted. On his return, being en- 
tangled by mountains, forests, rivers and morasses; 
flying parties continually hung upon his rear, and for- 
midable hordes often throwing themselves in his way, 
threatened to cut off his retreat. The news of his 
disasters reached the Danube, where he had posted 
strong ^'uards to defend t!ie bridge, he had thrown 
across that river ; several of the commanders station- 
ed there advised to break up the bridge, and thereby 
prevent his return, that his ruin miglit be completed. 
Among the foremost of those advising that measure, 
was Miltiades, the Athenian, wlio considered this as 
an opportunity, which ought not to be lost, of restor- 
ing the Asiatic Greeks to their liberty. But the plan 
failing of success, Miltiades was compelled to seek 
safety in Athens, to escape the resentment of the 
Persian monarch. This celebrated advice of Mil- 
tiades, of which a particular account is given by Cor- 
nelius Nepos, was defeated by the counsel and autho- 
rity of Histgeus, the Milesian ; who thereby saved 
the life of Darius, and brought himself into great 
favor with that prince. Darius, on his return to his 
own dominions, formed the design of punishing, not 
Miltiades alone, but the Athenian commonwealth. 

The conquest of the states of Greece, seems to 
have been a favorite object v/ith the Persians, from 
the time of Cyrus. Their growing power, their in- 



ANCIENT GREECE. 09 

dependent spirit, and especially the lofty and com* 
manding attitude they assumed and preserved, was 
wounding to the pride, and even alarnning to the 
fears, of the monarchs of Asia. But the short reign 
of Cy^us was employed in matters judc^ed to be of 
greater moment. The arms of his son Cambyses, 
were carried in a different direction ; nor was it till 
the reign of Hystaspes, that an invasion was carried 
into effect. Darius returned from his invasion of 
Scythia, covered with shame, and exasperated with 
disappointment. But finding himself re-seated on 
his throne, he considered it as a matter equally dic- 
tated by revenge, interest and honor, that he should 
now chastise the Greeks, who, during his unfortunate 
expedition to Scythia, had shown but too clearly 
their pleasure in his disgrace, and their readiness to 
co-operate in a plan for his destruction. 

Inflamed with resentment, the Persian king there- 
fore resolved to make tlie xAthenian repubHc, now re- 
garded as the head of Greece, the tirst object of his 
vengeance. He, therefore, after extensive prepara- 
tions, considerable delays, and some discouiaging 
disasters, fitted out a very great armament, the com- 
mand of which he gave to Datis and Artaphernes, men 
eminently skilled in military command. This mighty 
army contained the flower of his empire, and was con- 
veyed in a licet sufficient to shade the Grecian seas. 

The majestic armament, after hovering awhile 
among the isjands of the Archipelago, at length, with 
solemn grandeur, slowly approached tlie sliores of 
Attica. The tlower of the Persian army landed on 
the plain of Marathon, about ten miles from Athens; 
where they pitched their camp. In this interesting 
i moment, destined to confirm the glory of Greece, and 
to elevate the Athenians to immortal renown, that 
brave but small republic stood alone ; the other states 
refusing their aid, from republican jealousy, supersti- 
tion, and perhaps the paralizing shock of dubious ex- 
pectation. Whatever it might have been, 10,000 



I off) 



100 ANCIENT GREEeE.. 

Athenians, and a few men from Plataea, appeared in 
the field, to cope, as it is allowed by all historians* 
with ten times their number of chosen warriors. 

The Greeks, though few in number, were com- 
pletely armed, and were generally nnen of strength, 
courage, and tried skill in the gymnastic exercises. 
The celebrated Aristides, who was present in this bat- 
tle, and who b.ad a right, as general, to share in the 
command, magnanimously resigned his right to Mil- 
tiades, as did all the other commanders of Athens. 
On the morning of the decisive day, Miltiades formed 
his line of battle with the utmost skill and foresight. 

The heroes of Athens (for such every man of them 
might be called) took the right, and those of Platrea 
the left wing of the line, which was formed on the 
side of a hill ; down which, when the signal for onset 
was given, the Grecian army moved with order and 
rapidity. When they came within the reach of the 
Persian slings and arrows, they ran and closed with 
the enemy with the rinost impetuous shock. 

The conflict was severe, but short. Nothing could 
resist the valor of the Greeks, or equal the celerity 
of their evolutions. The Persians were dismayed, 
broken, routed and dispersed ; they fled to their 
ships in the utmost consternation, leaving 6000 of 
their best troops dead on the field of battle. The 
loss of the Greeks was inconsiderable. ^ 

The death of Darius soon put a period to further 
preparations against Greece; nor was the invasion 
renewed till the expiration often years. 

From this period, Athens held unrivalled the as- 
cendency in Greece ; but even the cursory reader 
will not refuse a tear over the relentless fate of the 
brave and illustrious Miltiades: for soon after this, 
failing in an att<'mpt against the isle of Pares, he was 
tried for his life, fined an immense sum, and flung 
into prison, where he expired with the wounds he 
had received in defending his country. He gave 
liberty and empire to his country, for which they re- 



ANCIENT GREECE. 101 

warded him with chains and a dungeon. Nor yet 
can we pronounce with certainty concerning the rea- 
sons the Athenians had to doubt his integrity, or to 
suspect him of maintaining' a clandestine correspon- 
dence with the court of Persia, especially when we 
remember the history of Sidney and Russell. Many 
men, whom nature has made brave and virtuous, will 
at length become intoxicated with power, blinded 
with self-interest, bewildered with dazzling theories, 
and liable to the deepest seduction. 

The Persians felt so severe a rebuke with sorrow, 
anger and indignation ; and a second invasion was 
resolved on, as the only expedient to wipe away the 
disgrace of this signal defeat, which must otherwise 
remain indelible. The son and successor of Darius 
Hystaspes, was Xerxes, surnamed the Great. We 
have already spoken of his famous expedition into 
Greece, in our view of the history of Persia. There 
we particularly noticed the victory obtained over his 
fleet, by the policy and bravery of Themistocles, in 
the battle of Salamis ; and of his precipitate retreat 
to his own dominions : we also noticed the defeat of 
the army, which he left under the command of Mar- 
donius, in the great and memorable battle of Plataea, 
by the combined armies of the Greeks, under the 
command of Aristides^and Pausanias. 

At Marathon, a single state of Greece had conquer- 
ed the united armies of Persia : at Salamis, the 
Greeks had shewn their superiority by sea : and at 
[, Platasa, the combined forces of Greece had destroyed 
the most efficient force, which could be drawn from 
the Persian empire, commanded by their ablest gene- 
rals. The dispute, which for ages had subsisted be- 
tween the Greeks and Persians, was now decided ; 
and it was well for the latter, that the former were 
satisfied without pushing the demonstration further, 
by arguments still more unpleasant. 

The Persians, doubtless, meditated no more inva- 
sions of Greece. The latter was left in the possession 
9* 



102 ANCIENT GREECE. 

of unrivalled glory, and the former were compelled 
to set bounds to their schemes of ambition. 

If the first part of Grecian history conducts the 
reader through a period of fiction, the part which we 
are now upon, opens to the mind a period of virtue, 
genius, merit and lasting fame. They could boast of 
a Homer, whose amazing genius was able to construct 
an epic poem, not only the first, but the noblest ever 
formed ; a poem, from which the mythologist, the 
legislator, the historian, the prince, the soldier, and 
even the geographer, could draw appropriate instruc- 
tions ; a poem, whose form has ever since been re- 
garded as an immutable rule and model of perfection ; 
a poem, which has tinged the whole current of poetry 
in all polite nations, and the lofty flights of whose 
muse have nevf r been outsoared. They could boast 
of an Amphictyon, whose wise and comprehensive \ 
miad had origmated the first political confederacy, to \ 
whose benign induence the prosperity and grandeur 
of Greece may be clearly traced ; and to which all ; 
free, deliberative, representative, legislative bodies 
do homage, as their grand parent. They could boast ' 
of a Lycurgus, whose powerful projecting mind could ^ 
control the licentious savage with laws, which, if not 
the most amiable and humane, yet displayed an en- 
ergy almost more tiian mortal ; and which, if they 
did not produce the most happy, certainly produced 
the most masculine, determined, and brave society of 
men ever known. 

Buf if the institutions of Lycurgus were deficient 
in mildness and urbanity, they could boast of a Solon, 
who united in one system, and condensed into one 
body, the scattered ra}sof pohtical wisdom and ex- 
perience to be gleaned up from the wisest nations of 
his time; who mingled mercy with justice, and the 
sternest precepts of pliilosophy with the softer dic- 
tates of sensibility and compassion. 

In short, as we approach to the final issue of the | 
Persian invasion, we are surprised at a tjroup of great 1 



ANCIENT GREECE. 103 

characters, which suddenly crowd the scene. Our 
minds are struck with the lustre of their virtues and 
actions. Miltiades, whose talents, as a soldier and 
connrnander, availed hinn instead of a host, first comes 
forward ; then Leonidas and his adventurous com- 
panions, whose souls appear like so many bright 
flames of courage and love of glory: then Themis- 
tocles, whose deep penetration enabled him to pre- 
dict and ward off'approaching danger; and as by his 
foresight, so by his courage and conduct, to be the 
saviour of his country'. But their names and due 
praises would fill a volume. So far are we from 
being able to do them justice, that we hope only to 
awaken in the reader a desire to trace them at large 
in the pages of ancient history. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ANCIENT GREECE, FROM THE PERSIAN INVASION TILL THE 
DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 

IN the preceding view of the history of Greece, 
the reader will perceive, that little mention is made 
of any of the states, except Lacedemon and Athens. 
For this omission two reasons are to be assigned; 
first, the brevity of this work requires, that but few 
things be noticed, as we pass through a field of such 
extent ; and secondly, the other states, whether in 
the Peloponnesus, or out — whether in Europe or 
Asia, were generally animated by the same views 
and motives, governed by the same politics, and fol-s 
, lowed by the same fortunes. 

Greece had now acquired the summit of her glory 
and happiness; but still she continued to exhibit un- 
questionable proofs, that no community can either 
boast of unsullied virtue, or can enjoy unmin^rled hap- 
piness. Many of those great men, whose talents and 



104 ANCIENT GREECE. 

virtues raised their country to its present greatness^ 
either by their own vices, or the ingratitude and envy 
of their countrymen, were doomed to experience 
the most painful reverse of fortune. Disgraced by 
their country, they descended in poverty, sorrow, and 
infamy, to their graves • leaving it for posterity to do 
justice to their memorj^ 

It will be remembered, thatPausanias and Aristides 
commanded the Greeks at the celebrated battle of 
Piatsea, where the Persians received their last defeat 
under Mardonius. Pausanias afterwards, lost to all 
true sense of rectitude and honor, became a traitor, 
and suffered the punishment he deserved. His col- 
league, Aristides, though once banished upon suspi- 
cion, was recalled, and was able fully to demonstrate 
his innocence. He lived to a great age, enjoying the 
highest honors of public confidence, and was sur- 
named the just. But to no commander did the 
Greeks owe more, than to Themistocles. His- 
torians generally allow, that after the defeat of the 
Persian invasion, under Darius Hystaspes, the Greeks 
were of opinion, that there would never be another 
invasion. Themistocles assured them to the contrary. 
He clearly foresaw, that what advantage had been 
gained over the Persians, would rather rouse their 
resentment, and stimulate tlieir ambition, than break 
their spirit. He said, therefore, that the battle of 
Marathon was but a prelude to a more glorious con- 
test ; and by his counsel and authority the Athenians 
were prevailed upon to forsake their city, which they 
could not have defended, and risk their fortune at 
sea. I'hat was doubtless their salvation, as their 
naval skill far excelled that of the Persians : and even 
when their fleets were drawn up in sight of each 
other, the policy of Themistocles brought on an en- 
gagement contrary to the wish of both fleets, and by 
that means gave the victory to Greece, which did in 
reality decide the fate of the war. 

To the superior genius of Themistocles, therefore, 
Greece was ipdebted for her liberties, and her exis- 



ANCIENT GREECE. 10^ 

tence as a nation ; and to the same the world is in- 
debted for preserving a nation, who were the fathers 
of literature and governnr^ent. But his services, 
however important to his country or to the world, 
could not save him. The Spartans regarded him 
with the m.ost implacable hatred and malice. They 
implicated him, as being concerned in the treason 
and treachery of Pausanias. They first procured 
his banishment, then his death. 

In a former chapter it has been said, that the great 
line of history (i. e. if we follow the course of em- 
pire) would scarcely strike into Greece, till the era 
of Alexander. But this remark must be understood 
in a sense extremely limited ; for at the close of the 
Persian invasion, and ever afterwards, nothing re- 
mained with the Persians but the shadow of empire: 
for, being compelled to acknowledge the superiority 
of the Greeks, both by sea and land, they were wil- 
ling to accept of peace on any terms. 

By a mo«t vigorous system of war, arts, agricul- 
ture, and commerce, the Grecian empire now spread 
in every direction ; and the coast of Asia, t'rom Syria 
to the Bosphorus of Thrace, owned her sovereignty, 
including all the adjacent islands. It extended also 
on the shores of Europe, from Epirus round the 
peninsula of Greece, and stretching to Macedon, 
Thrace, and the Euxine sea. 

Soon after the close of the Persian war, the Athe- 
nians rebuilt their city, which had been destroyed by 
Xerxes; or rather built it anew, and ersclosed it with 
walls, whose height and solidity rendered them im- 
pregnable to any common form of aitack. They also 
built the famous harbor, called the Piraeus, which 
lay about five miles from the citadel of Athens. 
This harbor was large and convenient for tb.e whole 
Grecian navy. Here a new city direc tly arose, near- 
ly of equal size with Athens. This new city, the 
harbor, and the intermediate buildings, were soon 
after, in the administration of Cimon, the son of Mil- 



106 ATfCIENT GREECE. 

tiades, enclosed in walls of amazing strength, extencj- 
ing from the old city ; so that the ersclosing walls of 
Athens were upwards of eighteen miles in length. 

Under the administration of Cimon, and Pericles,- 
these and various other public works were complet- 
ed ; so that Athens now began to assume a form and 
aspect exceedingly magnificent and splendid. If Ba- 
bylon, Ninevel), or Persepolis, covered a greater ex- 
tent of ground ; if they contained structures of great- 
er dimensions, still their real glory and magnificence 
bore no comparison to those superb structures, to 
which Grecian architecture gave birth ; and their in- 
ternal decorations, in comparison with those of 
Athens, and of other Grecian cities, were like the 
huge caverns and gloomy vaults, formed by the hand 
of nature. Not far from this period the republic of 
Elis built the celebrated temple of Olympian Jupiter; 
a work equalled in no subsequent age. To afford 
diversity to the young reader, we shall here give a 
brief description of this famous temple, abridged from 
Dr. Gillies. 

There had long subsisted a contest between the 
Eleans and Pisans, concerning the right of superin- 
tending the celebration of the Olympic games. This 
quarrel resulted in a war, in which the Pisans were 
conquered, and all their effects were appropriated to 
the building of a temple to Jupiter, by whose assist- 
ance the Eleans were supposed to be victorious. 

This temple was of the Doric order, built of stone 
resembling the Parian marble, and encircled with a 
superb colonnade. Its dome was 60 feet in height, 90 
broad, and 230 long. It was covered with a rare 
kind of marble, cut in the form of tiles. At each 
extreme of the roof stood a golden vase, and in the 
middle a golden victory ; below which was a shield 
embossed with Medusa's head, of gold. On the 
pediment stood Pelops and Oenomaus, ready to begin 
the Olympic race in the presence of Jupiter. This 
vault was adorned with the battle of the Centaurs 



ANCIENT GREECE. 107 

and Lapithae. The labors of Hercules distinguished 
the principal entrance. 

After passing the brazen gates, you discover 
Iphitus, who, as we have seen, founded the Olvmpic 
games, crowned by his spouse, Echechiria: thence 
the way led through a noble portico, to the majestic 
creation of Phidias, the Athenian ; which formed the 
grand ornament of the temple, as well as of Greece. 
The god was sitting on a throne, and of such colossal 
stature that his head reached the roof, 60 feet in 
height. This mighty image was composed of gold 
and ivory. In his left hand was a burnished sceptre, 
in his right, an image of victor}, and on his head, an 
enamelled crown of laurel. His robes and sandals 
were variegated with flowers and animals of gold. 
His throne was of ivory and ebony, inlaid with pre- 
cious stones. The feet which supported it, and the 
fillets which joirted them, were adorned with innu- 
merable figures, among which were the Theban 
children torn by sphinxes, and Apollo and Diana 
shooting the beautiful and once flourishing family of 
Niohe. Upon the most conspicuous part of the 
throne were eight statues, representing the gymnastic 
exercises, and a beautiful figure resembling young 
Pautarus, the favorite scholar of Phidias, who, in the 
contest of the boys had lately won the Olympic prize. 
On the four pillars, which between the feet, sustained 
the throne, were delineated the Hesperides, guard- 
ing the golden apples ; Atlas with mighty effort sus- 
taining tlie heavens, with Hercules ready to assist 
him ; Salamine with naval ornaments in her hand, 
and Achilles supporting the beautiful expiring Pen- 
thesilea. 

But the ornaments of this temple and statues were 
indescribable; presenting at once to the eye, a scene 
of elegance, beauty, and majesty, which no words 
can paint. There were in Grf^ece three other tem- 
ples, if not equal in all, yet far superior to this in 
some respects, ( viz.) that of Ceres and Proserpine, at 



108 ANCIENT GREECE. 

Eleusis in Attica ; of Diana, at Ephesus ; of Apolle, 
at Miletus, and of Jupiter, at Athens. 

During tiiis period, the Greeks seemed to unite 
every thing in their character and actions, which was 
bold, enterprising or great; but we cannot add, every 
thing, that was just, generous and humane. Many of 
their greatest men, they banished ; some, on real con- 
viction, but more, it is presumed, on suspicion, from 
the base motives of jealousy and envy ; and the 
season of happiness and glory for the Greeks scarce- 
ly arrived, before it was forever past. They now 
began to feel the corrupting influence of wealth, 
power and prosperity. Luxuries, like an over- 
whelming flood, rolled in from every quarter ; and 
the insolence of prosperity, and pride of empire, 
struck at the heart of public morals and virtue, and 
began secretly to undermine that power, which had 
raised^ the Greeks to such an exalted height. 

The career of those great men, we have just men- 
tioned, was scarcely past, when the administration of 
Pericles opened scenes more splendid, more flatter- 
ing to the vanity, and more corrupting to the virtue 
of Athens, than any which had been before his day.) 
Pericles was endowed with every accomplishment, 
necessary to enable him to influence and to govern. 
The most persuasive, and commanding eloquence, 
added to the greatest personal attractions, and intel- 
lectual powers, rendered him the most extraordinary J 
man of his tin)e. He was artful, bold, and rnagnifi- I 
cent. He was a friend to every thing great and i 
elegant in the aits and sciences ; a professed repub- 
lican; an accomplish'id courtier; capable of build- | 
ing cities ; of commanding armies ; of leading men's 
understanding by the force of his reason, however 
fallacious, and of inflaminff their passions by his ora- 
tory, li is said that he tliundered when he spake. 
Ambition was his ruling principle. His schemes, 
which were generally concerted with policy, and 
executed with success, tended uniforndy to sink the 



ANCIENT GREECE. 109 

states of Greece into one general mass, on which he 
might raise, adorn and glorify the Athenian empire. 
In short, his aim was to make Athens the supreme 
arbiter of Greece, and himself the head of Athens. 

The history of Greece, from the battle of Platasa 
till the Peloponnesian war, is, in a great measure, the 
history of governments, and of arts and sciences. 
We shall pass over this, therefore, a period of about 
50 years, and proceed to a brief survey of that war : 
and we shall see its causes early planted, and its ef- 
fects gradually forming the theatre for the Macedo- 
nian conqueror. 

The warlike Modes were inebriated by the wealth 
and luxuries they found in the (irst Assyrian empire, 
which they subdued. The Persians drank the same 
deadly draught from the conquest of the second. 
The Greeks were effeminated by the conquest of the 
Persians ; and the Romans, as we shall see in tracing 
our line, experienced the same in the conquest of 
Carthage and Greece. Throughout all ancient his- 
tory, we see virtue, industry and bravery, combined 
with ambition, raising nations to empire; and we 
see wealth, luxury, and vice, undermining and plung- 
ing them down to destruction. 

We have already noticed the ascendency, which 
the Spartans gained among the states of Greece, in 
the first ages of those republics. At first, it was real ; 
at length only nominal ; but after the battles of Ma- 
rathon, Salamis, and Platasa, it existed no longer. 
The Athenians seem to have been superior to their 
sister states in genius, enterprise, and local situation. 
The gradual, but povv^erful operation of these, together 
with many other advantages more particular and ac- 
cidental, rendered them superior to all. But by 
whatever causes they acquired superiority, one thing 
is certain, they used it with far less moderation, than 
the Lacedemonians had done before them. The 
menacing tone, and haughty air they assumed, were 
but ill calculated to promote their ancient union : 
10 



no ANCIENT GREECE. 

and indeed they now seemed only solicitous to extoi;l, 
hy force, from their neighbors, degrading acknowl- 
edgments and humiliating concessions. 

This haughty and overbearing spirit clearly ap- 
peared in the administration of Pericles. His lofty 
and aspiring genius, his bold and animated eloquence, 
prevailed on his countrymen to throw off the mask, 
and assert their right to supremacy. The con- 
sequence was, the extinction of all union, general re- 
sentment, combinations, conspiracies, and civil and 
desolating wars. In the general calamities, Athens 
shared largely. The Peloponnesian war was produc- 
tive of incalculable evils ; evils of which Greece 
never recovered — equally subversive of morals, liber- 
ty and empire ; and which prepared the way for the 
conquest of Alexander. 

The states of Greece, with equal astonishment and 
indignation, received ambassadors from Pericles, 
together with a mandate, that all the states and col- 
onies should, by their deputies, assemble at Athens, 
to adopt measures for rebuilding ruined temples, and 
paying due respects to the imnjortal gods, for their 
assistance in the Persian war. An order so extraor- 
dinary, in so imperative a tone, was received by 
many with deep disgust, and secret murmurs; hy the 
Spartans with resentment and derision: and by none 
with due submission, but those states, whose depen- 
dence had already insured their acquiescence. The 
tendency of this measure, was to render Athens the 
source of autiiority and the centre of deliberation, 
action, povver and honor. 

When Pericles understood how this requisition 
was received at Lacedemon, he is said to have ex- 
claimed, with his usual forcible and figurative style, 
" I behold war advancing with wide and rapid steps 
from the Peloponnesus." In this conflict of power, 
policy, wealth and ambition, it was perceived, that 
Athens and Sparta must form the two rallying points ; 
and both those powers had endeavore(,l5 by every ar- 



ANCIENT GREECE. Ill 

tifice of open and secret negociation, to strengthen 
their cause by leagues, alHances, and auxiharies. 

This memorable war was begun by the Corinthians 
and Corey reans, a colony from Corinth, about 439 
years before the Christian era. 

Corcyra is an island near the entrance of the Ad- 
riatic sea. East of it lies the kingdom of Epirus 5 
and west, the bay of Tarentum. This island has 
been famous even from the times of Homer, who 
calls it Phoeacia. Its present name is Corfu. From 
remote antiquity this island has been celebrated for 
its wealth, beauty, and at times, for its naval and mil- 
itary character. The republic of Corinth had early 
sent a colony to Corcyra, which soon grew into a 
wealthy and powerful state, and was able to resist the 
hanghty and imperious requisitions of the mother 
country. Nor shall we find a more convenient place 
than this, to notice an essential blemish in the moral 
and political character of the ancient Greeks. 

The spirit of emiejration and colonizing prevailed 
more with the Greeks, than with any nation, ancient 
or modern. It was, indeed, the natural result of their 
national character, form of government, and local 
situation. Enlightened, free, independent and enter- 
prising, the defenceless state of many of their more 
barbarous neighbors, invited their aggressions ; and 
the numerous islands of the surrounding seas, gave* 
ample room and full scope to the indulgence of their 
roving and restless propensities. They emigrated, 
invaded, conquered and colonized. And, before the 
commencement of the Peloponnesian war, could their 
powers have been brought to a common focus, by a 
plan of policy sufficiently strong and combining, they 
would have formed the most powerful and warlike 
nation ever known. But, in this respect, they were 
far behind the Romans. Divided into small inde- 
pendent governments, they were distracted and torn 
by mutual jealousies ; and their caprice, tyranny and 
vengeance, were often wrecked upon their refractory 



i 



112 ANCIENT GREEgE, 

colonies, towards whom they niade it a point to pre- 
serve an attitude the most commanding and super- 
cilious. A predominance of this unhappy temper, 
occasioned perpetual broils, and at last, brought on 
an eventful struggle, from the deplorable conse- 
quences of which Greece never recovered. 

After some battles, and various success, the Cor- 
cyreans, finding themselves in danger of being over* 
come, applied to Athens for aid, which was granted. 
In the mean time, the war is prosecuted with vigor : 
the Athenians send aid to Corcyra. Corinth is over- 
matched, and applies to Sparta and the Pelopon- 
nesian states; and they, at length, fall in on the part 
of Corinth. Thus, instead of Corinth and Corcyra, 
were seen Athens and Lacedemon in the field of 
action, the states of Greece divided, and the devasta^ 
lions of war spreading over their fairest provinces. 

The Spartans, if in any degree less warlike than in i 
former times, were certainly more enlightened, more 
politic, and directed by maturer councils. Their ji 
bravery and fortitude were still terrible to the haugh^ • 
ty Athenians ; and Pericles himself might have seen i 
reasons for wishing, that he had been satisfied with a 
more tacit acknowledgment of Athenian greatness; 
especially, when he now often saw, that proud capi- 
tal tottering on the brink of destruction, exposed to 
the fortune of a most eventful war, and severely dis- 
tressed by pestilence. 

While the confederate armies were ravaging the 
country of Attica, even almost to the gates of Athens, 
a dreadful plague broke out in that city. As its first 
appearance was at the Pirasus, it was generally be^ 
lieved to have been imported from abroad in the 
Athenian vessels. This was about the year before 
Christ, 430. 

The glory of Greece was now past its meridian : 
for, whatever party might prevail, the reader must 
perceive a train of inevitable evils in consequence.; 
'Deplorable is the state of a kingdom divided against 



/^ 



ANCIENT GREECE. , IIS 

%hdf» For the particulars in this wide and melan- 
choly scene of war, destruction, and misery, the 
reader must be referred to the histories of those 
times. There he will find, that on the 16th of May, 
404 years before Christ, at the end of 27 years from 
the commencement of this unhappy conflict, Athens, 
the glory of Greece, the mistress of the arts and 
sciences, was taken by the confederate armies, and 
her walls, her towers, and her fortresses, levelled to 
the ground. 

The day, says Dr. Gillies, was concluded by the 
victorious confederate armies, with a magnificent 
festival, in which the recitation of poems, as usual, 
formed a part of the entertainment. Among other 
pieces was rehearsed the Electra of Euripides, and 
particularly that afft cting chorus, " We come, O 
daughter of Agamemnon, to thy rustic and humble 
roof." These words were scarcely uttered, when 
the whole assembly melted into tears. The forlorn 
condition of that young and virtuous princess, ex- 
pelled the royal palace of her father, and inhabiting a 
miserable cottage, in want and wretchedness, recalled 
to mind the dreadful vicissitude of fortune which 
had befallen Athens, once mistress of the sea, and 
sovereign of Greece, but deprived, in one fatal hour, 
of her ships, her walls, and her strength, and reduced 
from the pride of prosperity and power, to misery, 
dependence, and servitude, without exerting one 
memorable effort to brighten the last moment of her 
der^tiny, and to render her fall illustrious. 

The Peloponnesians vainly boasted, that the fall 
of Athens would be the era of Grecian liberty, 
Athens, indeed, tasted that bitter cup, which lawless 
pride and ambition generally presents to her votaries. 
By her situation, her genius and prosperity, she 
seemed designed as the guardian of Greece ; but her 
ambition to govern or to conquer, which none in- 
flamed more than Pericles, was as cash and presum.p- 
tuous, as it wis foolish and vain. Athens, thus 
10* 



114 ANCIENT GREECE* 

humbled, prostrated, and crushed, never rose to her. 
former state; and the powers, which triumphed over 
her, were involved in her destiny ; resembling the 
members of a body, which revolt from the head, cast 
it down, and trample it in the dust. 

After this period, however, many great men ap- 
peared in Greece ; but no general bond of union could 
be formed. Intervalsof peace were short ; and their 
few virtuous characters only shown like passing 
meteors, for a moment. If Alcibiades was famous 
for his talents, he was no less infamous for his vices; 
and the few splendid actions he performed were ut- 
terly insufficient to counteract the general effects of 
caprice, crooked policy, and a total want of virtue, 

Athens had scarcely recovered a measure of liberty, 
by the exertions of Thrasybulus, and begun to respire, 
after a shock so paralizing, and calamities so dread- 
ful, when war again broke out. This is commonly 
called the Bceotian war. Instead of rising, as did the 
former, from the Peloponnesus, it now pointed its 
avenging flames toward that haughty combination of 
powers, and menaced them with a fate, similar to 
that of Athens. It is remarkable, that as the sun of 
ancient Greece was still lingering on the western 
horizon, as if loath to set, she at times displayed an 
elFulgence of genius which few nations could boast, 
when enjoying their meridian of glory. In the days 
of glory, which Sparta and Athens had seen, it was 
little expected, that Boeotia would ever be the terror 
of Greece; would not only excite Ihetr jealousies, 
but alarm their fears, and would render necessary 
their utmost exertions, not to say in defence of their 
honor, but of their national existence. 

Historians, without a dissenting voice, allow Epami- 
Dondas to have been great in the various characters 
of statesman, hero, patriot and commander. The 
Thebans and their confederates were led by this 
most accomplished general into the Peloponnesus. 
Lacedemon was their mark. They ravaged th.e 



/ 



ANCIENT GREECE. 115 

country of Lyconia, even to the gates of Sparta. 
That proud and powerful people had not seen such a 
day for five hundred years. The skill and valor of 
(Agesilaus saved them. 

The course of human affairs resembles a revolving 
wheel, some parts of which are perpetually rising, 
some falling ; some are up and some down. It is in- 
credible, that Lacedemon should be compelled to 
apply to Athens for aid, whom she had so lately 
conquered ; but this she did, and that with success. 
The war progressed with vigor ; was protracted ; 
had various turns, and was at length terminated in a 
general battle at Mantinaea. This battle is allowed 
to have been the most equally matched, the ablest 
conducted, and the most bravely fought, of any one 
ever fought in Greece. While the fortune of the 
day was evidently declaring for the Thebans, 
Epaminondas was killed. This roused the drooping 
spirits of the Spartan allies, and at last rendered the 
victory doubtful : it was claimed on both sides. 

With Epaminondas expired the martial spirit of 
his country : for, although the Thebans maintained 
the ascendency for some years, and were able, for a 
while, even to control the decisions of the Amphic- 
tyonic council, yet they gradually sunk to their former 
insignificance. This great general terminated his 
career in the 2d year of the 104th Olympiad, 363 
years before Christ, and may be considered as one of 
the last expiring lights of the Grecian republics. 

W^ithin eight years of the death of Epaminondas, 
Alexander the Great was born, generally acknowl- 
edged to be the first of heroes and of conquerors. 
Under his powerful sceptre, the Greeks, the Persians, 
and even the Indians, formed but one amazing field 
of conquest. 

Empire first having taken her flight from Persia 
and from the Grecian republics, seemed for a while 
hovering on other shores and coasts, as in doubt 
where to settle* 



IIG' ANCIENT GREECE* 

More than 800 years before the Christian era^ a 
colony from the ancient city of Tyre, whose history 
we have already noticed, crossed the Mediterranean, 
and settled in Africa. Those enterprising adven- 
turers, conducted by the celebrated Dido, founded 
the city and empire of Carthage. The Carthagi- 
nians, by degrees, extended themselves along the 
shores of Africa — subdued the Islands of the Mediter- 
ranean, great part of Sicily, and even many islands 
in the Atlantic ocean. They succeeded, and very 
far exceeded their mother country, in the empire of 
commerce, and were for many years masters of the 
sea. But the Carthaginians, like the Trojans, were 
destined, after flourishing a while, to enhance the 
triumph and exalt the fame of their conquerors. 
They were checked by the Greeks, and finally sub- 
dued by the Romans. 

The Romans, about this time, flourished under a 
consular administration. Mardius Torquatus, Decius 
Mus, and others, were cotemporary with Alexander. 
But the Romans were yet unknown to fame ; their 
wars not having extended beyond the small tribes 
and states of Italy : for it is remarkable, that, after j 
Rome had been an independent state 360 years, her 
territories did not extend twenty miles from the city. 
But a power was now rapidly rising, much nearer 
to Greece, which was to change the scene in Europe 
and Asia, and to influence the state of numerous na- 
tions, to ages unborn. 

Northwestwardly of the head of the Archipelago, 
and separated from that sea by Several small Grecian 
republics, lay the country of Macedon. Its exact 
size, as also its boundaries northwardly, were little 
known even to the ancients, and still less to modern 
geographers. The country was rough, mountainous, 
and, for the most part, wild and barren. As early as 
the Persian invasion, these parts were little known. 
They had been colonized and subdued by the Athe- 
nians, but had revolted in the course of the Pelo- 
ponnesian war. 



ANCIENT GREECE, 117 

Amyntas, the grand-father of Alexander the Great, 
was the first prince of that dynasty, of any consider- 
able note in history. He is represented by Quintus 
Curtius, as a man of great abilities, equally brave in 
the field, and wise in council. But, overwhelmed 
with difficulties both foreign and domestic, he was 
able only to plant those seeds of greatness, which 
were afterwards to flourish and influence the destiny 
of half the nations of the earth. During his reign, 
the Macedonians were too wild and barbarous to 
coalesce in any settled plan of policy, civil or mili- 
tarj. Of course they were kept in perpetual fear 
from the inroads of the Illyrian tribes, which skirted 
them on the north. 

The Greeks, likewise, though w^asting away by 
swift degrees, in the fires of civil war, were still war- 
like and powerful, under the administrations of Cimon, 
Pericles and Epaminondas. The life of Amyntas 
was strongly imbittered b}^ intrigues and conspiracies, 
in his own palace, carried on by his famous, or rather 
infamous queen Eurydice: a calamity, which, amid 
all their greatness, seemed to pursue that whole dy- 
nasty of Macedonian kings, until it exterminated the 
posterity of Philip, king of Macedon. 

Amyntas had three sons, Alexander, Perdiccas, and 
Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. After a 
troublesome reign, he was succeeded by his eldest son 
Alexander, who found full employment in repelling 
the invasions of his ferocious and warlike neighbors. 
In an unsuccessful war with the Illyrians, he was com- 
pelled to become tributary, and to give a royal hos- 
tage. He gave his younger brother Philip, who, dur- 
ing his residence with those rude but martial people, 
gained a knowledge of them, which was afterwards 
of eminent service to him ; though he was then but a 
boy. On a similar occasion, being afterwards sent to 
Thebes, he there enjoyed the greatest advantages. 

Epaminondas then flourished ; and taking Philip 
under his immediate protection and care, he educated 



118 ANCIENT GREECE. 

him together with his own son, in the Grecian lite- 
rature, in which he made great proficiency. The 
school of adversity, gives lessons of wisdom, and im- 
parts an energy to man almost indispensable to great- 
ness. For the most part, the more pampered and 
delicate children of easy fortune are enervated in the 
germe and blossom of life, and are forever hushed on 
the downy lap of prosperity, to inglorious repose. 

It was not so with Philip. In those adverse for- 
tunes, which could not break his spirit, he learnt pa- 
tience, humility and wisdom. He found ample re- 
sources in his own mind, made strong by exertion, 
and rich by experience. 

Three years after the battle of Mantinsea, and the 
death of Epaminondas, Philip found that country in 
the utmost confusion. There had been no settled 
administration ; but civil war, assassinations, revolu- 
tions and anarchy. Philip was a prince of great 
aV)ilitics, and equal ambition. He cast his eyes over 
the wide prospect ; and, allured by the most brilliant 
hopes of aggrandizing his family, and invited by the 
degenerate effeminacy of the Athenians, the discord 
of the Peloponnesians, and the general weakness of 
ail Greece, he laid the plan of an empire, which his 
son v.^as destined to execute, and to exceed. Fortune 
seconded his views. His measures, taken with pro- 
found policy, and executed with surprising celerity^ 
soon put him in peaceable possession of Macedon. 
He married Olvmpias, a beautiful princess of Epirus, 
whose personal and mental attractions made her no 
less worthy of his regard, than the greatness of her 
family, descended from Achilles, rendered her worthy 
of sharing his throne. 

The Greeks, now degenerated from the glory of 
their ancestors, found their chief resource against the 
arms and policy of Philip, in the sublime and power- 
ful eloquence of Demosthenes* The muses, partial 
to this delightful land of their nativity, having long 
before this done what they could in forming the 



ANCIENT GREECE. 119 

lather of poets, now made their last efforts in forming 
an orator, never to be excelled. But, alas ! in vain 
were the powers of rhetoric displayed. The strong- 
est reasons and the sublimest descriptions, the most 
solemn warnings, the most animated addresses, were 
antidotes too feeble to recover a nation forever lost 
to virtue ; they were arms and bulwarks far too weak 
to resist a powerful conqueror. Yet they often seem- 
ed to resuscitate the dying flame of liberty, and co- 
operating with other impediments to the consumma- 
tion of Philip's ambition, that prince left his main 
enterprise to be effected by his son. 

A letter from Philip to Aristotle, the Grecian phi- 
losopher, announcing the birth of Alexander, his son, 
is worthy of insertion ; " Know that a son is born to 
us. We thank the gods, not so much for th(^ir gift, 
as for bestowing it at a time, when Aristotle lives. 
We assure ourselves, that you will form him a prince, 
worthy of his father and of Macedon." When Alex- 
ander was thirteen years old, Aristotle commenced 
this employment, as the young prince w^as then found 
able to receive and digest his instructions. " It is 
impossible to say how far the greatness of the one 
was owing to the instructions of the other ; but it is 
no more certain that the one conquered the world, 
.than that the other's opinions predominated over 
men's understandings during sixteen centuries."* 

In the full career of pleasure and ambition, Philip 

was assassinated, in the 47th y^ear of his age, and 

C24th of his reign, by Pausanias, as he was walking 

from his palace to see the public games^ between his 

son Alexander, and his nephew of the same name. 

Philip had been very unhappy in his family, had 

3 once at a public feast, in a rage drawn his sword and 

I rushed upon his son to kiil him ; but Alexander by a 

quick motion of his body evaded the blow aimed at 

his life. It was believed by many that be was privy 

to his father's assassination. 

* Dr. Gillies. 



120 ANCIENT GREECE. 

Thus fell Philip, in the vigor of his life ; his favo- 
rite schemes being as yet accomplished but in part. 
When we view his life, actions, achievements and 
character, we can entertain little doubt, that he was 
the ablest statesman of any monarchy beyond the 
Augustan age. 

Alexander immediately ascended his father's 
throne ; and it was soon perceived that the admini- 
stration of the government would lose nothing by 
the change. 

His first enterprise was agjainst the barbarous and 
warlike nations, that lay north and west of Macedon. 
Wherever he turned his face, all opposition vanished 
before him. On the death of his father, many pow- 
erful and independent tribes of Thrace had seized 
the opportunity, expecting to avail themselves of the 
inexperience and youth of his son. But Alexander, 
although he was now, and from the moment of his 
accession to the throne, preparing for the invasion of 
Persia, determined to convince them, that tliey had 
nothing to hope from his inexperience, nor to expect j 
from his negligence. At the head of a well appoint- 
ed armj, and with generals, whom his father had | 
taught the art of war, he penetrated into Thrace, and 
was victorious in several sharp encounters. He 
crossed the Danube, and displayed his triumphant 
standard on the northern banks of that river. 
There, many neighboring nations, struck with the 
terror of his arms, sent him their submission in the 
humblest terms. 

But while he was marching and conquering in the 
wilds of Europe, a report was spread in Greece, that 
he had fallen in battle. Whether the belief of this 
was real or pretended, the perfidious Greeks, though, 
they had just before complimented him by appointing 
him general of Greece, began now industriously to 
foment a war with Macedon. Athens, Spaita, and 
particularly Thebes, was at the head of this attempt. 
The news of this diversion reached the youthful con- 



ANCIENT GRKEOe, 121 

qiieroT, as he was ready to return. In eleven days 
he was seen before Thebes ; which ancient and 
venerable city he had destined to utter destruction. 
He took it by storm, put the inhabitants to the 
sword, and levelled it to the ground. Thus ended 
the city of Cadmus, after having remained one of the 
heads of Greece 710 years. 

The Greeks, struck with dread at the fate of 
Thebes, sent ambassadors to appease the resentment 
of Alexander, and to congratulate him on the success 
of his northern expedition. Never did the character 
of a nation undergo a greater change, than that of 
Greece,, from the times of Miltiades to those of Alex- 
ander. They now were as low, as they had been ex- 
alted ; as feeble as ihey had been strong ; and as 
mean and base, as they had been noble end magnifi- 
cent. Indeed, so rapid was their declension, that the 
fortune of Alexander was to them rather a favor 
than a scourge. 

But nothing could exceed the decision and dis- 
patch of his counsels, the energy of his preparations, 
or the rapidity of his motions. He despised all 
slower counsels, all delays, and even the usual pre- 
cautions which commonly retard warlike schemes. 
His father's ablest generals were astonished at the 
vigor and success, with which he executed the bold- 
est plans. One reason he assi^rned for invading 
Persia, was a pretended suspicion, that their emis- 
saries had been concerned in the murder of his 
father ; although the impartial reader of history 
cannot avoid a suspicion of a \evy different nature. 

Alexancler, having intrusted his domestic concerns 
(for such now were those of Macedon and Greece) to 
Antipatrr, set forward on his Persian expedition, at the 
head of an army consisting of 5,000 horse and 30,0i»0 
foot. In twenty days he arrived at the HcJIcspont, 
where he crossed without opposition into Asia. 

With so small an army, says Quintus Curtius, it is 
doubtful which is most admirable, the boldness or 
U 



122 ANCIENT GREECE. 

the success of Alexander's vast enterprise.* His 
army was truly a veteran arm}', consisting of old men,' 
who had fought in the earlier wars of his father and 
uncle. His soldiers were grey headed, and when 
embodied, they resembled the venerable senate of 
some ancient republic. Their dependence was not 1 
on the swiftness of their feet, but on the strength of 
their arms. 

The extensive regions of the Persian empire were 
inhabited by various nations, without any common 
bond of religion, manners, language, or government. 
Their capital cities were dissolved in luxury ; and 
their provinces had long been in a state of real dis- 
memberment, for want of any combining system of 
policy, either civil or military. Murders, treasons, 
and assassinations were the usual steps to the throne ; 
and, when seated there, the monarch's business was 
little better. 

Although the Persians were abundantly forewarned 
of Alexander's intentions, yet they suffered him to 
advance far into their dominions, unmolested either 
by sea or land. In their confusion and alarm, which 
every day strengthened by intelligence of the rapid 
advances of the Greeks, the advice of their ablest 
counsellors was rejected, either through ignorance or 
envy. The most skilful generals in the service of 
Darius, urged the utter impolicy of risking a general 
battle with Alexander, whose impetuous valor, now 
enhanced by the necessity of conquering, would 
drive him into the most desperate efforts. It was 
therefore advised to lay waste the wide country be- 
fore him, and tame his courage by delays. By this 
policy^ Fabius afterwards checked the progress of 
Hannibal, and saved Rome. 

But the foolish and haughty satraps of Persia re- 
jected this advice with disdain, as unworthy of the 
dignity of the empire of Cyrus, especially, as it came 
from Memnon, the Rhodian ; the only general, how- 

* Quint. Ciirt. lib. ii. chap. iv. p. 20t. 



ANCIENT GREECE* 123 

ever, in the armies of Darius, whose opposition ap- 
peared at all formidable to Alexander. This great 
man, however, was soon removed by death ; and 
Darius was left to the folly and perfidy of men, who 
knew no language but that of flattery. 

The river Granicus issues from mount Ida, in the 
Lesser Phrygia, and falls into the Propontis. On 
the eastern banks of this river the Persian comman- 
ders assembled their forces with the utmost expedi- 
tion, and determined to resist the shock of the enemy ; 
and from this place the scouts of Alexander brought 
him the desired intelligence, that the Persians were 
assembled in considerable force. As he approached 
the river, he perceived the Persian army on the op- 
posite bank. Determined on an attack, he immediately 
made dispositions for crossing the river. His cavalry 
opened to the right and left, and displayed the formi- 
dable Macedonian phalanx of infantrj^, divided into 
eight sections. A line was instantly formed. 

While these arrangements were making, Parmenio, 
a general as celebrated for bravery as for caution, 
remonstrated against crossing the river in such dan- 
gerous circumstances. The channel, though forda- 
ble, was deep and rough, the current rapid, and the 
bank steep and rocky; the enemy stood on the op- 
posite bank, and the river must be forded and the 
bank ascended, under showers of arrows and darts. 
But nothing could intimidate Alexander. He leaped 
upon his horso, assumed the command of the right 
wing, and gave the left to Parmenio. As he dispersed 
his orders, a fearful silence ensued, and both armies 
expected the onset. In a few moments, the Macedo- 
nian trumpet was heard from all the line, and the 
whole was seen entering the river. 

As they reached the opposite bank, the shock was 
dreadful : for the Persians, who fought for life and 
empire, received them with the most obstinate 
bravery. Alexander was conspicuous by the bright- 
ness of his armor, the terror of his voice, the aston- 



i2^ ANCIENT GREECE. 

ishing celerity of his movements, and the victory 
and death which attended his arm. He infused his 
spirit into his army. It was impossible not to be 
brave, where he was. But his intrepidity led him 
into dangers, which none but himself ever seemed 
destined to escape. His spear was broken in his 
hand ; his helmet saved his life from the stroke of a 
hattle-axe ; and the brave Clitus, whom he afterwards 
murdered in the fury of passion, saved him at the 
same instant from the stroke of a scimitar, which 
must have proved fatal. 

The fortune of the day was nearly decided, before 
the phalanx of infantry could ascend from the river. 
Their dreadful aspect, glittering with steel, completed 
the victory ; and the Persians were either killed, 
taken, or dispersed. Besides that this battle seemed 
to presage the future fortune of the war, it was ruin- 
ous to the cause of Darius, who here lost several of his 
ablest commanders, with about 20,000 men, while, 
incredible to relate, Alexander lost only 30 or 40. 

The fortune of no conqueror, is better known, than 
that of Alexander. His only impediment in the sub- 
jugation of the Persians, seemed to be the great ex- 
tent of their territories, and the distance of their 
capitals and fortresses. Darius Codomanus displayed 
little else in the coui'se of this war, which was to 
put a period to his empire, but weakness, cowardice, 
the most stupid ignorance, extreme vanity, and a 
total incapacity either of governing a kingdom, or of 
commanding an army. 

Between the battle of Granicus and that of Tssus, 
where Darius commanded in person, nothing took 
place worthy of insertion in this compend. In gen- 
eral, the masterly policy of an extensive plan of 
operations, united safety with dispatch, and crowned 
every movement with success, as much to the glory 
of the invaders as the ruin of the invaded. 

The defenceless nations of the Lesser Asia, sent 
their ambassadors in throngs to deprecate the vea* 



ANCIENT GREECE* 12^3 

glance, implore the mercy, or court the alliance of 
the young hero. But he moved from place to place 
with a celerity, which, almost denied access to his 
faint hearted but nimble footed suppliants. 

Parmenio, the next in command to Alexander, was 
dispatched on various excursions, either to receive 
submissions, or to reduce such strong holds as might 
dare to stand a siege; but the king of Macedon him- 
f self held a more regular line of march, and halted at 
the great cities. When arrived at ancient Troy, he 
had performed splendid sacrifices and honors at the 
tomb of Achilles, his great maternal progenitor. It 
is allowed by all, that he took that hero for his model. 
So enamored was he of the character and glory of 
Achilles, that he constantly carried Homer's Jliad 
in his pocket, and read in it almost every day and 
hour. 

The delays of the Grecian army led Darius to 
imagine, that fear kept the Greeks at a distance. 

To give the young reader a view of the character 
of the Persian monarch and nation, and generally of 
the imperial pomp of the ancient Asiatics, we shall 
here descend to a brief detail of the preparations of 
Darius, and particularly^ of the order of the camps and 
movements, which we translate and abridge from 
Quintus Curtius's Life of Alexander. We deem this 
apparent disproportion allowable, both from having 
promised it, in our preface, and from the vast impor- 
tance of the events, to which it leads. 

Darius Codomanus may be compared with Louis 
XVI. of France. If the term innocent or inoffen- 
sive is applicable to an absolute monarch, ihey were 
both among the most innocent, inoffensive, or harm- 
less of their respective dynasties. When Darius j)er- 
ceived at a distance the gathering storm, risinji from 
Macedon, he sent a splendid and haughty deputation 
to Alexander, in which he declared himself to be the 
king of Icings-^ and the relation of the gods, and that 
Alexander was his servant. This commission was 
11* 



126 ANCIENT GEE£Cfe« 

given to the satraps of the empire with orders to 
seize (he mad h>y^ for so he termed Alexander; to 
whip him severely, to clothe him in mock purple, and 
bring him bound to him; moreover, to sink his ships, 
in which he had crossed the Hellespont, and to send 
his army in chains, in exile, to the farther shore of the 
Red Sea. The Persian lords, entrusted with this 
gentle office, assembled what they thought a suffi- 
cient force, on the banks of the river Granicus, where 
they intended to execute, to every punctilio, the or- 
ders of the monarch of Asia. They found it no easy 
task to seize the mad boy. 

The only great military character at this time in 
the service of Darius was Memnon, the Rhodian. 
That experienced soldier comprehended at once the 
nature and consequences of this threatening war; 
and advised his master to the only expedient, which 
could have exhausted the impetuous fire of the mad 
hoy^ so much despised at the Persian court. Mem- 
iion's advice, together with its rejection, have been 
already noticed ; as also the result of the affair at 
the Granicus. 

The loss of the battle and army of Granicus, for the 
tlrst lime, roused the king of Persia from his dreams 
of security, and opened his eyes on the imperious ne- 
cessity of decisive measures. Without loss of time, 
he endeavored to wield and concentrate the strength 
of his empire, on an emergency, which had not oc- 
curred, since the days of Cyrus, 
' The regions of Asia have always been populous ; 
and Darius found no difficulty in assembling an army 
answeral)le to the dignity of the king of kings. He 
assembled his forces on the plains of Babylon, and, 
determining to command in person, made his dispo- 
sitions accoidingly. 

According to an ancient custom of the Persians, 
he began his march, to meet the enemy, at sun-rise, 
aiid in the following order. Foremost went the 
magi, supporting, on altars of massy silver, what the 



ANCIENT GREECE. 1 2T 

Persians call the sacred and eternal fire. They be- 
gan to move at the sound of the trumpet, given from 
the king's pavilion, at the same time chanting a 
hymn, suitable to the grand occasion. The magi 
were followed by three hundred and sixty-five youths, 
a number equal to the days of the year, veiled in 
Tyrian purple. A splendid chariot, sacred to Jove, 
followed these, drawn by white horses ; and then a 
horse of wonderful size, which they called the steed 
of the sun. Behind these, were ten chariots, richly 
embossed with silver and gold, which were followed 
by the cavalry of twelve nations, with various arms 
and ensigns. A corps of 10,000 chosen warriors, ar- 
rayed in the most superb style of eastern magnifi- 
cence, covered with gold and gems, whom they called 
the immortal band, went next ; and they were follow- 
ed by 15,000 men, denominated the king's relations, 
dressed in a style of the most costly and effeminate 
luxury. Next to these, went a band called the 
Doryphori^ dressed in royal apparel; before whom 
moved the superb and lofty chariot of the kinjr, sup- 
ported on either hand by divine emblems, emblazed 
■with pearls of inestimable value, and bearing the 
images of Ninus and Belus, the founders of the Assy- 
rian empire, with a golden eagle. 

The dress of the king was distinguished by ewery 
possible mark of the most luxurious wealth, the most 
gorgeous blaze of gems and gold, ^i en thousand 
spearmen followed his chariot, armed with silver 
spears, and darts of glittering gold. On his right 
hand and left, about 200 of his family connexions 
attended, and were enclosed in a body of 00,000 in- 
fantry, the king's body-guards. Behind these, a 
short distance, Sisygambis the mother, and Statira 
the wife of Darius, rode in separate chariots. A 
multitude of women ; in short, the children and me* 
nials and pellices of the king, came next, under a 
strong guard ; and the liffht armed, even a multitude 
of nations, brought up the rear. 



128 ANCIENT GREECE. 

It is said, by our author, that one day, while Darius 
was viewing this immense army, he turned to Chari- 
demus, a veteran Greek, who had fled his country 
from hatred and fear of Alexander, and asked him, 
whether he did not think, that even the sight of such 
an army would be sufficient to affrighten Alexander 
and his handful of Greeks ? Charidemus, forgetful of 
regal pride and vanity, made answer, " This army, 
so superbly equipped, this huge mass of so many na- 
tions, drawn together from all the east, may be terri* 
ble to nations, like themselves, may shine in purple 
and gold, may glitter in arms and wealth, so as to 
dazzle the eye, and exceed conception. But the Ma- 
cedonian forces, of stern visage and roughly clad, 
cover the impenetrable strength of their firm battal- 
ions with shields and spears. In the solid column of 
their infantry, which they call the phalanx, man is 
crowded to man, and arms to arms. They learn to 
keep rank, and to follow the standard at the slightest 
signal. Whatever is commanded, they all hear. Nor 
are the soldiers less skilful than their officers, to halt, 
to wheel, to form the cresent, to display their wing, 
or change the order of battle. Think not that they 
value gold and silver. Virtuous poverty is the mis- 
tress of their discipline. When weary, the earth is 
their bed ; by whatever food comes to hand they an- 
swer the calls of hunger : and their repose is shorter 
than the night. And can we think, that these Thes- 
salian, Acarnanian and iEtolian horsemen, a band in- 
vincible in war, clad in glittering steel, can be van- 
quished by slings and spears of wood ? No. You 
need troops like them to contend successfully with 
them. From that land, which gave them birth, aux- 
iliaries must be sought. Would you, therefore, hope 
to vanquish Alexander, strip off the gold and silver, 
with which your army is adorned, and hire soldiers, 
like his, who can defend your country." 

Darius, though naturally of a mild and gentle tem- 
per, yet now agitated by fear and jealousy, and of 



ANCIENT GREECE. 129 

course become cowardly and cruel, in a rage at re- 
marks so just, and advice so pungent, ordered the un- 
fortunate Charidemus to be instantly beheaded ; and 
it was accordingly done. Like all other rash and 
foolish spirits, he perpetrated in haste an atrocity, 
which he could not retrieve by lasting and bitter 
remorse. 

The Persian king, soon after, set forward with this 
\ vast cavalcade, probably of near a million of souls, in 
/'quest of the hardy band of Greeks, who dispersed, 
captivated or slew all who came in their way. How 
different his army and his whole conduct from those 
of the great Cyrus, when he marched from the same 
countries to encounter Croesus, king of Lydia ! and 
how different in the result ! 

The death of Memnon, the only general of Darius, 
j for whose military talents Alexander had the least 
respect, gave confidence to the Greeks, and struck a 
deadly damp to the hope and courage of the Persian 
I monarch. Although Memnon's advice had been 
slighted, merely to gratify the vain-glorious pride of 
his haughty rivals, yet his loss was felt and deplored : 
I and Darius perceived himself surrounded by the 
i ministers of his pride and folly, frf>m whom he had 
little to expect, but stupidity, treachery and cowar- 
dice. 

At the head of this unwieldy mass of people, 
Darius moved from the plains of Asia, northward, to- 
ward the mountains of Syria, in quest of a handful 
of Greeks, whom still he affected to despise. And 
well he might have despised them, had he not been 
a stranger to the art of war, as well as to the proper 
use of his own resources. An attention to the advice 
of Charidemus, might have saved him. By a little 
augmentation of his Grecian auxiliaries, he might 
have easily opposed to Alexander, a number of 
Greeks equal to the Macedonian army ; as he had 
already in his army, a powerful body of Greeks, who 
constituted his most efficient force. Nothing could 



130 ANCIENT GREECE. 

have been more gratifjing to the Athenians, Lace- 
demonians, and, indeed, to all the peninsula, than 
the fall of Alexander, from whose triumphs they 
expected nothing but chains. 

Had they seen a power in the field able to re- 
sist the conqueror, or even to protract the war, 
they would have lent their aid. But the counsellors 
of Darius were unable to form any regular plan. In- 
flated with the empty name of the empire of Cyrus, 
from which the spirit and genius of Cyrus had long 
since departed, they di':tated nothing but rashness 
and folly. They even counselled Darius to put the 
Grecian troops to the sword, for fear they might 
prove treacherous, and desert his standard in the day 
of battle. 

In the line of Alexander's march, an entrance into 
Cilicia was commanded hy a pass over a mountain, 
where a very (ew men might have stopped the pro- 
gress of a powerful army. This pass was command- 
ed by Arsanes, governor of Cilicia. Instead of de- 
fending it, on the approach of Alexander, the das- 
tardly Persians fled, before the Greeks came in sight. 

Alexander, when he gained the height, expressed 
astonishment at his good fortune ; nor could he but 
perceive, that such an advantage, so readily aban- 
doned by the Persians, gave a sure indication of his 
future success. Yet, in passing these mountains, he 
kept continually before his army, bands of light 
armed Thracians, who might secure him from am- 
buscade and surprise. 

Tarsus, afterwards the birth-place of the apostle 
Paul, a principal city of Cilicia, had been set on fire 
by the Persians; but the city was saved by the timely 
arrival of Parmenio. The ablest counsellors of Da- 
rius urged him to return to the extensive plains of 
Mesopotamia, where his innumerable forces might 
act to advantage ; or at least, that his army should 
be divided, and led on to encounter the Greeks a' 
different times and places. 

I 



ANCIENT GREECE. 131 

Darius was especially induced to reject this saluta- 
ry advice, by intelligence that Alexander was dan- 
gerously sick. He therefore hastened his march, 
and came up with Alexander at the bay of Issus. 
Yet when it was ascertained, that the Macedonian 
army was near and approaching, Darius was greatly 
surprised and disappointed. He had entertained a 
vain confidence, that the Greeks would retire at his 
Approach, and not dare to hazard a battle with an 
army like his. Indeed, had he possessed the talents 
/of Alexander, the army of the latter would not have 
sufficed his innumerable host for handfuls. 

Darius gave the command of his right wing to Na- 
barzanes, to which he added light troops, composed 
of slingers and archers, to the amount of ^0,000. In 
th^ centre of this wing, Thymodes was placed at the 
head of 20,000 Greeks, a power of itself sufficient to 
cope with the Macedonian phalanx. It was indeed 
the flower and strength of his army. The left wing 
was commanded by Aristodemus, a Thessalian, with 
20,000 infantry. To these he added the most war- 
like bands of the allied nations. In this wing the 
king himself fought, with 3000 chosen cavalry, his 
hody guards, sustained by 40,000 infantry. Near 
these, were ranged'^the Hyrcanian and Median horse, 

powerful body of cavalry ; and finally, many thou- 
sands of auxiliary forces. In front of this array, six 
thousand slingers and archers moved forward to 
commence the battle. 

^ The place for the battle was most unfortunate for 
Darius. A narrow irregular plain, limited on one 
side by the sea, and on the others by mountains and 
declivities, enabled Alexander to display as wide a 
front as Darius, and gave a peculiar advantage to the 
'Greeks, accustomed to manoeuvre among hills and 
'.mountains. 

I Alexander drew up his powerful phalanx in front. 
[The command of his right wing he gave to Nicanor, 
(the son of Parmenio. Next to him stood Ccenos. 



132 ANCIENT GREECE* 

Perdiccas, Ptolemy, Meleager, and Amyntas ; each 
one destined to a particular command. The left 
wing, which extended to the sea shore, was cofti- 
manded by Parmenio, with Craterus, subject to his 
orders. The cavalry were ranged on either wing; 
the Macedonian and Thessalian on the right, and 
the Peloponnesian on the left. And before all, as 
was usual, light armed troops, archers and slingers 
were stationed. 

When the armies now stood in open view of each 
other, Alexander passed before the front of his for- 
midable line, addressing his officers and soldiers, maa 
by man. He encouraged them to the contest, from 
motives of safety, interest and glory. He reminded 
them of a series of victories gained, when victory 
was far less necessary, but never, when it would be 
more glorious. 

The conflict for a while was severe and dreadful. 
Darius did every thing he could to sustain his failing 
throne. Indeed the Greeks in his army fought with 
great bravery, and in discipline, were little inferior 
to the Macedonians. Had their numbers been equal, 
they might have influenced the fortune of the day. 
But an immense rout and confusion soon took place 
in the Persian army; and when the Greeks saw 
themselves contending alone against a superior force, 
such as were not slain, either surrendered or fled in 
despair. Darius soon perceiving all was lost, with 
some difficulty effected his escape. 

In the camp of Darius was found considerable trea- 
sure : but what was most inestimable to Alexander,! 
was the family of the unfortunate Darius. Among 
other royal persona2:es, were taken Sisygambis, the 
mother of Darius, his children, and his Ciueen, the 
beautiful and celebrated Statira, considered as one of 
the finest women of antiquity. The ardent and 
youthful conqueror, on this occasion, displayed the 
higi.est sensibility and honor of a soldier and hero. 
And his behavior to those noble captives, may be 



ANCIENT GREECE, 133 

compared with that of the great Cyrus before, and of 
Scipio after, his time, on occasions nearly similar. 
He treated them with the respect and deference, due 
to the elevated rank of their more fortunate days ; 
and strove by commisseration, pity, and tenderness, 
to mitigate the severities of their hard fortune. In- 
deed, his heart, subdued by the resistless charms of 
virtue, innocence and beauty, of a conqueror made 
him a captive in his turn. He afterwards married 
Statira, and made her a second time queen, not of 
Persia only, but of Asia, Africa and Europe. Her 
second elevation, however, was soon terminated by a 
destiny most severe and dreadful. On the death of 
Alexander, she fell a sacrifice to the cruelty and am- 
bition of those blood-thirsty harpies, whose first care 
was to exterminate the family of Alexander. 

In a former chapter we have spoken of the siege 
of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar. The taking of that 
celebrated city by Alexander, was not one of his 
least brilliant exploits. Although conquered and 
humbled by the Assyrians, that queen of commercial 
cities, had regained her former splendor, and had 
forgotten her ancient fall and degradation. The 
Tyrians having sent Ambassadors to Alexander, de- 
sired to know his pleasure, and declared their sub- 
mission to his will : but when they were informed, 
that he intended paying them a visit, they, with 
equal modesty and firmness, sent him word, that 
although they were disposed to do homage to his 
will, yet, as they were an independent state, they 
could neither admit him or the Persians to m;ike 
their city a party in the war. This was enough for 
that ambitious conqueror. He instantly determin- 
ed to try their streni^th. Tyre was probably the 
strongest ciry in Western Asia. 

This great city was separated from the shore by a 
narrow strait of half a mile in width. Its wnljs were 
a hundred feet in height, and eighteen miles in cir- 
inxiU Its provisions, and naval and nuiitary stores, 



134 ANCIENT GREECE. 

were very great. As Alexander had little hope of 
taking the city but by land, he constructed a mole 
across the frith. Tliis was done with vast labor and 
danger to the Greeks ; and was no sooner done, than 
destroyed by tire by theTyrians. In this inveterate 
siege, which lasted seven months, every expedient 
of force and art, was employed on both sides : and it 
may be safely said, that no city was ever attacked 
with greater vigor, or defended with more resolute 
bravery. But what could resist the genius of Alex- 
ander? The city at length was taken, and so far 
destroyed, as never again to recover its former splen- 
dor. The subjection of Phoenicia followed the reduc- 
tion of Tyre ; and, if we except the brave resistance 
of the fortress of Gaza, Alexander met with little 
more resistance, till he arrived in Egypt. There 
he laid the foundations of a city, which was to bear 
his name. Alexandria, in twenty years, became one 
of the principal cities of the east. 

The unhappy Darius was unable to repel foreign 
invasion. His hand was never formed to hold with 
steadiness, strength and dignity, the reins of empire. 

Escaped from the battle of Issus, he hastened back 
to the seat of his empire \ and, as soon as possible, 
and with no great difiiculty, assembled a numerous 
armv. Could the spirit and genius of the great Cy- 
rus, have actuated him for but a few months, the de- 
clining fortune of his kingdom, would have assumed 
a ditTerent aspect. 

We can say little more in this place, than that the 
Macedonian conqueror subdued Egypt and Persia, 
and even penetrated far into India. His conquests 
comprehended the most enlightened parts of Europe 
and Asia, and the fairest portion of the habitable 
Sflobe. After his return from the east, his attention 
was directed to the establishment of order and reg- 
ular government throughout his extensive empire. 
In matters of this nature, he showed no less capacity, 
than he had done at the head of his armies. But 



ANCIENT GREECE. 135 

here his designs were never carried into effect. 
While planning the future prosperity of his empire — 
while receiving embassies from all quarters of Eu- 
rope and Asia, and even before he bad time to 
realize to what an elevated height of honor, glory 
and dominion he had arisen, he was seized with a 
raging fever at Babylon, which terminated his life in 
the 33d year of his age and the 13th of his reign. 

How sudden and how awful the change from the 
summit of earthly glory to the dreary and silent 
tomb ! No conqueror was ever more fortunate than 
he ; no hero more brave ; no monarch more splendid. 
For thirteen years, his life was a rapid series of suc- 
cesses, victories, conquests, and triumphs. But death, 
in an unexpected, untimely hour, closed the scene. 

Alexander was said to be of low stature, and not 
well formed ; yet in genius, vigor, activity, and 
elevation of mind, he was probably never excel- 
led. His father, whose administration. Dr. Gillies 
justly observes, is the first of which we have a 
regular account in history, certainly was one of the 
greatest of men and of princes; yet for boldness, 
decision, rapidity and grandeur of mind, he cannot 
be compared with his son. To judge of the justness 
of the grounds of Alexander's leading enterprises 
would be unsafe at this distance of time. He certain- 
ly had many provocations to invade Greece and 
Persia. He was guilty of outrageous acts of bar- 
barity, when provocations arose, during his paroxysms 
of wine and passion ; which certainly occurred so 
often, as to throw a shade over his general character. 
But if those acts impaired the lustre of his fame, they 
no less destroyed his happiness; for they were 
generally followed by the keenest remorse and self- 
condemnation. 

His burning the palace of Persepolis, at the instiga- 
tion of Thais, if the story deserves full credit, though 
pretended as a retaliation upon Xerxes for burning 
Athens, admits of no apology ; while, on the other 



136 MACEDON. 

hand, the death of Clitus, as related bj^ great authori- 
ties, has many paliations. Clitus had loaded Alex- 
ander with the most abusive and reiterated insults. 
They were both in the heat of wine and passion ; and 
the monarch after being insulted for some time or- 
dered Clitus to be carried out of his presence. Clitus 
after this, came back and renewed the attack. Upon 
•this the king stabbed him ; but was so instantly struck 
with remorse, that he would have killed himself 
with the same weapon, had he not been restrained 
hy the company present. 

If the knowledge of war, personal authority, brave-, 
ry and good fortune, are essential to the chai'acler 
of the great commander, it can scarcely be doubted, 
that Alexander was second to none.* Hannibal 
.seemed wanting only in the last article. He had 
great skill, bravery and authority. His misfortune 
was, that his countrymen were corruj)t, and the 
government under which he acted extremely bad. 

Had Alexander enjoyed a long reign, he would 
probably have introduced a form of government 
adapted to the nature and extent of the countries he 
had conquered. But before tliese salutary objects 
could be accomplished, even before he had organized 
a combining system of policy, or tletermined on a 
successor, lie was called from the great theatre of 
human life, on which, while he remained, no mortal 
ver made a greater figure. 



CHAPTER xnr 

xMACEUON. 

ALEXA-NDER's empire, from his death TiLL ITS SUB- 
JUGATION BY THE ROMANS. 

THE death of Alexander, which took place 324 
years before Christ, occasioned changes and wars in 
all parts of his extensive conquests. His dominions 

* Vide CicerOj pro. Manil lege, Orat, 



MACEDON. 137 

were divided among four of his great officers, viz. 
Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Selcucus. 
Cassander shared Macedon and Greece — Lysima- 
chus, Thrace and the countries bordering on the 
Hellespont and Bosphorus — Ptolemy had Egypt, 
Lybia, Arabia, Syria and Palestine, and Seleucus had 
Chaldea, Persia and the east. 

The century succeeding the death of Alexander, 
forms, perhaps, the most uninteresting period of an- 
cient history. The successors of the great conquer- 
or were ambitious without abilities, and, instead of 
power and policy, they displayed little else but 
treachery, perfidy and cruelty. The whole empire 
was agitated by vain struggles, wars ill-conducted, 
and conspiracies remarkable for nothing but weak- 
ness, folly, and barbarity. Such scenes were exhibp* 
ited in Babylon ; such in Persia ; such in Macedon ; 
and such in Greece. The nations east of Persia 
soon returrted to their former state, and felt the shock 
of Alexander's concjuest, only as a wave separated 
for a moment by the course of the ship that passes 
through it. Indeed Persia itself had little to perpet- 
uate the memory of that event, except what indeli- 
ble marks the course of war had left in (he destruc- 
tion of several of her noblest cities and greatest 
families. 

Alexander had united himself to the royal family 
of Darius, by marriage ; of course that family, as 
soon as he was dead, fell a prey to the merciless rage 
of jealous^'- and ambition ; not even excepting his 
beauteous (juccr) Statiro, as already noticed. So that 
his posterity shared none of his glory or good for- 
tune. 

BM]:)ylon nnd its vicinity felt longer and more 
deeply the elTects of this concjuest; only however to 
complete its ruin and extinction, by the building of 
Sel< ucia on the bnnks of the 'J^igris. The states of 
Greece held on their course of degradation, rapidly 
declining from their former glory, till, together with 
1 2* 



! 38 MACEDON* 

their liberty, virtue, public spirit and genius, their 
prosperity, happiness, and national existence depart- 
ed. But in Macedon, Syria, and Egypt, there arose 
establishments, which make some tlgure in history. 

It has been already noticed that, in the division of 
the empire, Cassander, one of Alexander's generals, 
shared Macedon and Greece. This man had little 
more talents than were sufficient to enable him to 
perpetrate the blackest crimes and the most atro- 
cious villainies. He seems to have been designed as 
the instrument of Providence for the destruction of 
Alexander's family. He is even suspected, and that 
upon probable grounds, of having poisoned Alex- 
ander himself. After he had reigned in Macedoa 
nearly twenty years, and, with cruel ingratitude, im- 
brued his hands in the blood of the children and 
friends of his benefactor, and had experienced 
various fortune in the wars, which his competitors 
were carrying on, he died, and left three sons to con- 
test for his kingdom. After various murders and the 
most horrid parricide, the sons of Cassander, whose 
mother, Thessalonice, was the sister of Alexander 
'he Great, were destroyed, and the kingdom fell into 
'he hands of Demetrius, another of the competitors 
lor the emj^ire, who reigned seven years. And it is 
remarkable, that this revolution completed the extir- 
pation of the family of Philip, king of Macedon. 

Sosthenes, a Macedonian, succeeded Demetrius. 
But his reign was of short duration; and Antigonus 
was elevated to the throne in the year 276 before the 
Christian era. The kings of Egypt and Syria ac- 
knowledging the right of Antigonus to the kingdom 
of Macedon, it remained in his family for several 
successive reigns, till Perseus, the last of that race^ 
was conquered by Paulus jEmilus, the Roman consul, 
and Macedon became a province of the Roman em- 
pire, about a century before Christ. 

To speak particularly of the character and exploits 
of those princes, in a work of this nature, would afford 



MACEDON. 139 

as little pleasure as profit to the reader ; who, from 
the specimens given, may fornri some judgment of the 
rest. Indeed, it is a period of history but little 
known ; and what is known of it, is extremely un- 
sightly and disgusting. 

Before we proceed to the kingdom of Syria and 
Egypt, it will be proper to observe, however, that 
this period was adorned with one great character. 
Pyrrhus was the lineal descendant of Achilles, the 
famous leader of the myrnnidons in the Trojan war. 
Being very early in life forced to abandon Epirus, his 
paternal inheritance, to Neoptolemus, a usurper, he 
followed the standard of some of the competitors who 
fought for Alexander's empire, till at length he was 
delivered over to Ptolemy Sotcr, king of Egypt, as a 
hostage. His bravery and good conduct soon gained 
him the affection of that monarch, who rewarded his 
merits with the hand of Antigone in marriage, the 
daughter of Berenice, his favorite queen ; and furnish- 
ed him with an army to attempt the recovery of his 
kingdom. This illustrious prince soon appreciated 
the value of these advantages, by the complete re- 
covery of all his dominions. His course was marked 
with a series of great and noble actions. In Asia he 
met no equal ; and wherever he turned his arms, 
victory attended him. His elevation took place about 
297 years before Christ. 

Pyrrhus, however, was unable to resist the rising 
fortune of Rome. Unfortunately for him he entered 
Italy, where he was repulsed by a nation of heroes, 
who united the bravery of Leonidas to the uncorrupt- 
ed virtues of Aristides. Had Pyrrhus made Greece 
and Asia the scene of his operations, he might either 
have avoided a collision with the Romans, or at least 
might for a while have checked their growing pow- 
er. It is thought by some that had Alexander him- 
self entered Italy, he would have met the fate of 
Pyrrhus. But Pyrrhus experienced the fortune of 
war. He is allowed by all historians to have been 



140 SYRIA. 

the greatest commander of his time, and by some, to 
have been second to none but Alexander. His inva- 
sion of Italy will be noticed in our view of the Ro- 
man history. 

From Macedon let us proceed to notice the king- 
dom of Syria. This country lies at the east end or 
head of the Mediterranean, but separated from it by 
what was anciently called Phoenicia, a narrow strip 
of land, which lies along the eastern shores of that 
sea, the chief cities of which were Tyre and Sidon. 
North of Syria lay bordering Cappadocia and some j 
other provinces; east lay Mesopotamia ; and south, i 
Arabia and the deserts. Syria was also divided into i 
Upper and Lower : a distinction which will be of i 
little use in this compend. I 

Twelve years after the death of Alexander the 
Great, and before Christ 312, Seleucus, after various m 
revolutions, found himself able to establish his autho- 
rity in Syria, over which he reigned for 33 years. 
He was j)erpetually engaged in the competitions and || 
inglorious wars of his time, without performing any 
thing particularly worthy of notice. It has been al- 
ready remarked that Chaldea, Persia, and the east 
fell to him, in the division of the empire. In those 
immense provinces, to govern which required the 
genius of Cyrus or Alexander, Seleucus was not 
wholly inactive. He endeavored to complete the 
conquest of those countries, and even invaded India, 
but with little elTcct. Instead of continuing in the 
purpose of Alexander, to make Babylon the seat of 
his empire, he built the city of Sejpiiria. upon the 
Ti fris. about forty miles from Babylon ; which al- 
ready accelerated the decline of tlu' latter; now dis- 
mantled to adorn and replenish the new city. Its 
iin;.l a])andonment soon took place. 

Either by accident or design, the city of Seleucia 
obtained the name of New Babylon, which name 
havinij^ not always been distinguished from that of the 
old city, abundance of confusion has been introduced 



SYRIA. 141 

into ancient history, and many historians have been 
led very erroneously to affirm, that ancient Babylon 
stood on the river Tigris. 

Seleucus, having reigned 33 years, was treacher- 
ously murdered by Ptolemy Ceraunus, or the Thun- 
derer, as he seems foolishly to have been surnamed ; 
who thereby, for a short time obtained the govern- 
ment of Macedon. But he was vanquished and slain 
by the Gauls — a fate he justly merited. 

Seleucus was succeeded in his throne and domin- 
ions by his son Antiochus, who made Antioch the 
seat of his empire. This city was for many ages, 
says Dr. Prideaux, the queen of the east. It was 
built by Seleucus, and stood on the river Orontes, in 
Upper Syria. The Syrian kings reigned here ; and 
here afterwards the Roman governors resided ; and 
after the introduction of Christianity, it long remain- 
ed a famous archepiscopal see. The most consider- 
able enterprise in the life of this prince, was his ex- 
pelling the Gauls out of Lesser Asia. We have al- 
ready noticed their invasion of Greece, whence they 
were driven by Sosthenes. They had now invaded 
and in a great measure overrun all the Lesser Asia, 
and threatened to subdue the whole Assyrian empire. 
Antiochus defeated and cut them off so completely, 
as to deliver his territories from their incursions. 
He was thence surnamed Soter, or Saviour. 

Not far from this period the fame of the Roman 
arms, and the fortune of that wondrous people, were 
confirmed in the defeat and downfall of Pyrrhus, 
king of Epirus. 

As the succeeding reigns of the Syrian kings would 
furnish little either for the instruction or amusement 
of the reader, we shall content ourselves with a mere 
enumeration of them. Antiochus Soter, after a reign 
of 15 years, was murdered by his wife Laodice, and 
was succeeded by Seleucus Callinicus. This prince 
reigned 20 years ; was perpetually enjjaged in war, 
and ended his life in Parthia, by a fail from his 



142 SYRIA. 

horse. He was succeeded by bis son Seleucus Cer- 
aunus, or the Thunderer; who, after a reign of 3 
years, was poisoned by his courtiers. The Saviours 
and Thunderers of that pusillanimous race of kings, 
with all their thunder against their enemies, and sal- 
vation for their subjects and dominions, did little but 
waste their time and strength in vain enterprises, 
poorly planned and still worsely executed ; and thus 
prepared them to become an easy prey to the Romans. 

Ceraunus was succeeded by Ids brother Antiochus, 
surnamed the Great: and, indeed, if a great deal of 
noise and bustle ; many expeditions ; getting some 
considerable victories, (which, however, he did not 
know how to improve,) and despising some advan- 
tages which might have turned to his account ; in 
short,fif fighting hard, and getting often defeated, 
and at last overthrown with irrecoverable disgrace 
and ruin — if all this merited for him the title Great^ 
surely no one ever earned it more completely. 

We shall notice particularly but a few things in the 
reign of this prince ; neither of wliich very well com- 
port with his being styled the Great. The tirst is his 
war with Arsaces, king of the Parthians, or Persians. 
This enterprising and warlike prince restored, in 
some measure, the ancient government of Persia, 
which the Romans neve^^ ^^I'ij subjugated. Antio- 
chus had a long war with him, and gained some ad- 
vantages ; but could never conquer him. 

The second thing we shall notice concerning Anti- 
ochus, is his rejecting the advice of Hannibal^ the 
Carthaginian general, and thereby failing of the aid 
of that great and warlike genius. The fall of Car- 
thage being now foreseen by Hannibal, he saw no 
power either in Europe or Asia, to whom he could 
apply for aid, or with whom he might unite his en- 
deavors against the Romans, except the king of Syria, 
To him, therefore, he went and tendered his assis- 
tance and advice. The substance of Hannibal's ad- 
vice to Antiochus was, that he should make war upon 



SYRIA. 143 

the Romans, whose power had now become formida- 
ble to all nations; that they should immediately be 
invaded in the most vigorous manner both by sea and 
land ; and that Italy itsrlf should be the seat of war. 
This advice was no less timely and important, than 
it was judicious and practicable ; and a conformity to 
it was of equal moment both to the giver and receiver. 
But the Syrian king, whose views and conceptions 
wanted that extent and vigor necessary to raise him 
to a level with Hannibal, and actuated by a mean 
jealousy, lest the superior talents of the latter should 
eclipse his own, pursued a quite different course. 
Antiochus invaded Greece ; was met by the Roman 
armies; was defeated by sea and land, and that, on 
the side of the Romans, almost without the loss of 
blood. With the loss of great part of his dominions, 
he was compelled to pay an enormous tribute, and to 
accept of the most disgraceful terms of peace ; and 
Lucius Scipio, the Roman general, acquired the sur- 
name of Asiaticus, in honor to him as the conqueror 
of Asia. 

Sometime after this Antiochus was killed in rob- 
bing the temple of Eiymais, dedicated to Jupiter Be- 
lus, having reigned 36 years. The history of Syria, 
from this period, is virtually but the history of a Ro- 
man province, although it bore the form and sem- 
blance of a monarchy for 122 years. Seleucus Phi- 
lopater next ascended the Syrian throne, on which he 
maintained a dubious authority for 11 jears. After 
him the succession took place in the following order, 
Antiochus Epiphanes, 11 years; Antiochus Eupator, 
2 years ; Demetrius Soter, 12 years; Alexander Ba- 
las, 5 years ; Demetrius Nicanor, 5 years ; Antiochus 
Sidetes, 10 years; Demetrius Nicanor, 11 }ears; 
Zebina, 2 years ; Antiochus Grypus, 27 years. Dur- 
ing the last mentioned reign, and 114 years before 
Christ, Antiochus Cyzicenus estahlished a new king- 
dom at Damascus, which remained independent of 
Syria for 30 vears. 



l44 EGYPT. 

Seleucus succeeded Antiochus Grypus, and reigned 
4 years ; after him Philip, 9 years ; in whom ended 
the Seleucidae, or the family of Seleucus, after having 
swayed the sceptre of Syria 229 years. This was in 
the year 83, before the Christian era. If poisons, 
assassinations, conspiracies, treasons — if murder of 
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children — if 
the violation of every law of nature, reason, and jus- 
tice, was ever the peculiar characteristic of any dy- 
nasty of monarchs, it surely belonged to this. The 
Syrians at length expelled and excluded the Seleucidae 
from the government, and elected Tigranes, king of 
Armenia, to be their king. Under Tigranes the royal 
dignity of Syria became extinct, and that country was 
made a Roman province by Pompey ; of whom we 
shall speak in our view of the Roman history. Syria 
became a province of Rome 65 years before Christ. 

With a brief survey of the history of Egypt, from 
the death of Alexander till the subjection of that 
country to the Romans, we shall close our view of 
Alexander's empire. If any of the princes of those 
times deserved the name of Soter, or Saviour, the first 
Ptolemy must have been the man ; since he is allow- 
ed by all ancient writers, to have been a prince of 
great wisdom and virtue. In the division of Alcxan- 
der''s conquests, it has already been remarked, that 
Egypt fell to l*tolemy. After a war with the rival 
princes for several years, he found himself firmly set- 
tled in the government of Egypt, and his reign com- 
menced in the year before Christ, 304 — ei^ht years 
after that of Seleucus in Syria. To detail the parti- 
cular wars between Egypt and Syria, (for they were 
almost incessant,) would not consist witlAhe brevity 
of this work. It shall suffice to say that the kings 
of Egypt held a respectable ascendency among the 
successors of Alexander. They generally reified 
with more dignity, and cert.iinly pres<'rved their in- 
dependence longer, than either those of S)xia or 
Macedoji. 



EGYrT. 145 

Ptolemy Soter, having reigned 20 years from the 
time of his assuming the title of king, and 39 from 
the death of Alexander^ being above 80 years old, re- 
signed his kingdom to Philadelphus, his son, a prince 
famoug for his exertions to promote learning, and for 
the encouragement he gave to learned men> The 
celebrated Alexandrian library had been begun/by his 
father, who was himself both a scholar and philoso- 
pher. It was kept in the temple of Serapis, reckoned 
one of the finest and noblest cililices of antiquity. 

This lil)rary consisted of two parts; one of which, 
containing 300,000 volumes, was kept in a quarter of 
the city called Bruchium ; the other part, consisting 
of 200,000 volumes, was kept in the Scrapcum, or 
temple of Scra[)is. The library of Bruclunm only, 
was burnt by Julius Cesar : yet in after times, as we 
have before statcid, all was lost. 

This important librai'y or museum drew together 
the most learned society in the world, and raised 
F.^ypt once more, and probably for the last time, to 
be the aui^ust patroness of science. The presidents 
of this museum were the first counsellors of statt- to 
the kiiii^s of Iv^ypt ; and the first president appointed 
by Ptolemy Philadelphus, was (t)emetrius Phalereus, 
a Greek who had been for several years sfovernor of 
Athens — a man of great learninir and abilities.* 

It is remarkable, that the dynasty of Ptolemies, 
from the accession of Ptolemy -"^oter till the end of 
the reii{n of Cleopatra, lasted 294 years; the whole 
of which period (•.om[)i(diended only eleven reii:ns, 
and that almost in an unbroken succession. /'Those 
piinces must ha\e reigm d, on an a\erage, about 27 
yeais. 'Jhe sliortest reign of them all was 13 years. 
Several of them reached nearly 40 years, 'i hey stand 
in the following order, Ptolemy Solcr, S9 years; Phi- 
ladelphus, 38; Kuergetes, 25; Philopater, 17; Kpi- 

* Great inflctd hr mrci Imve !)C'<-:i, since Cornelius Nepos says, 
that the Athenian senate erected 3uO statues to perpetuate his 
memory. 

13 



146 EGYPT. 

plianes, 24 ; Philometcr, 35 ; Physcon, his brother, 
29; Lathyrus, 36 ; Alexander, in right of his vife, 
15 5 Auletes, 13 ; Cleopatra, 22 years. The Hebrew 
monarchs, from Saul to Jehoiakim, reigned, on an 
average, 24 years ; the Persian, from Cyrus to Codo- 
manus, 1 8 years ; the Ronnan, from Augustus to Con- 
stantine XII. emperor of Constantinople, 12 years; 
the English, from William the Conqueror to George 
II. 22 years. 

If long reigns and regular successions may be re- 
garded as evidences of the wisdom, good forHme,and 
mild administration of the prince, and of the content- 
ment, tranquility, and equanimity ol the public mind, 
the Ptolemies may be reckoned among tlie most hap- 
py and fortunate of the monarchs of anticjuity. 

Without noticing particularly the several reigns in 
this period of history, we shall close it \^ith a few 
general observations. 

An event took place about this time, which serves, 
perhaps, above all others of a historical nature, to de- 
monstrate the very high antiquity and great authority 
of the scriptures of the Old I'estament. We have al- 
ready spoken of ^Demetrius" IMialereus. who \Nas the 
greatest scholar and philosopher of his time. Plu- 
tarch informs us, that this Demetrius advised Ptolemy 
Soter to make the largest collection he could of books, 
which treated of the government of states and king- 
doms, as he would thereby obtain the advice and ex- 
perience of wise men in former ages. Soter accord- 
ingly engaged in the work ; but it was more fully ac- 
complished by Philadelpluis. Among many other 
histories and codes of laws, they also obtained from 
the high priest of Jerusalem, an exact copy of the 
sacred writings, together with seventy-two learned 
Jews, vvho were deeply skilled in the Greek language, 
to translate them. These persons proceeded into 
Eirypt, and, und( r llie inspection of 1)< metrius Pha- 
lereus, accomplished that celebrated translation. 
This was done in the eighth year of the reign of 



EGYPT. 147 

Ptolemy Philadelphus. The concurrent testimonies 
of many ancient authors estal)li8h, be>ond all possible 
doubt, the certainly of this transaction ; and of course, 
they also establish other things, (viz.) that the writ- 
ings of tfie Old Testament existed in the days of 
Ptolemy Philadclphus ; and that their credit and au- 
thority were then great and uncjuestionablc. Tliere 
is indeed a doubt, whether the true Septuagint trans- 
lation is now extant. According to Epij)lianeus. it 
was burned in the Alexandrian library of Bruchium 
by Julius Cesar. But on the contrary, Terlullian 
artirms it to have been kept in the Serapeum, and of 
course that it escaprd that conflagration. 

From the death of Alexander to the conquest of all 
bis dominions by the Romans, the belligerent powers 
of the known world may be divided into four parts, 
forming two irr md theatres of war. The lirst, and 
by fir the grandest, scene was made up of the Romans 
and Carthaginians and their several allies ; the 
second was composed of the powers we have beea 
considering in this chapter, (viz.) the Macedonians, 
Syrians, and Es:ypti:ins. The latter had ambition 
enough, but with little power or policy ; the former 
were ambitious of empire, and were nearly on a foot- 
ing as to the necessary means of gaining it. For it 
is justly remarked by an able historian, that the 
genius of war forsook the Greeks at the death of Al- 
exander, and went over to the Carthaginians. 

Alexander's conquest must, on the wh.ole, be re- 
garded as a benetit to the world. Had the Persians 
conquered Greece, or the Carthaginians, Rome, an 
age of darkness must have ensued, through which 
the wing of conjecture is unable to explore its flight." 
Those nations, under which Rome ultimately fell, al- 
though rough and savage, yet had great vigor, both 
of body and mind. The world has therefore once 
more risen to the light of science, reason, and civili- 
ty. But the oppressive tyranny of southern climates^ 
threatens to extinguish reason and virtue, and over- 



148 EGYPT. 

whelm mm in everlasting^ darkness. The conquest- 
of the Greeks left no nation worse, than they lound 
them. It certainly left many naticMis hetter. VAen 
Greece itself lonnd an cneniy in Alexander less dan- 
s^erous,than it divl in Pericles. An artnd deniacrogue 
of great talents is tiiC most dangerous man tlu^ world 
ever saw, a.id i^ the greatest cuise to aii\ form of 
govcrnnicnt that ever befell it. Alexandei found ihe 
Persians at their lowest ebb. Had he not conrjuered 
tliem, they would soon have conquered themselves. 
Indeed, they had done it already ; and were falling 
into ruin by the natural progress of internal debility, 
1'jie Egyptians were regcnci'ated b) his conquests; 
and were never more flourishinir, respectable, en- 
lightened or happy, than ufider the Grecian elynasty. 

Grecian literature generally travelled with their 
arms arid planted itself with their colonics ; and 
before the Augustan age, had diilused itself through 
most parts of Ijirope and Asia : and if the military 
spirit of the Greeks rested on the Carthaginians, their 
love of the arts and sciences surely did no less on 
the Romans. 

From the foundation of the commonwealth of 
Athens, by Cecrops, to the death of Cleopatra, the 
last of Alexander's successors, was upwards of one 
thousand four hundred years. During this period, 
the Gi-eeks founded and overturned the greatest em- 
pires ; they excelled all nations in architecture, stat- 
uary, painting, poetry, and oratory; they gave the 
world its first hero; they exhibited the greatest vari- 
ety of character, and the most astonishing displays 
of genius'; and they may be considered as justly 
nierititig the first rank among the nations of the 
earth. Their history^, therefore, and their language 
open a more variegated, rich, beautiful, and sublime 
fteld of stud V, than those of anv other nation, 



HOME. 149 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ROME. 

BRIEF HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, FROM 
THE FOUNDING OF ROME BY ROMULUS TO THE EXPUL- 
SION OF TARQUIN THE PROUD; CONTAINING A PERIOD 
OF TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE YEARS. 

AS the traveller who passes the night in wander- 
ing through lonely solitudes and frightful mountains, 
till, at break of day, he finds himself in a delightful 
country, surrounded with the beauties of nature and 
art, so it is with the historian who passes through the 
dark and barbarous ages which lie between us and 
the prosperous times of the f^oman empire. When 
we view the distant glories of Rome through the in- 
tervening shade, and indulge the melancholy reflec- 
tion, we are prompted to exclaim, And couid such 
an fmpire decline ? Could such magnificence perish? 
Could such wealth be dissipated, such institutions be 
overthrown, and such splendid scenes be darkened 
forever? Yes! The industrious malice, the barbarous 
rage of man, will gen('rally supersede the ravages of 
time, or at least will always share with them the em- 
pire of destruction. 

VV Ijen we pajis beyond the dark ages, the Roman 
empire, of which we are now to speak, first attracts 
our attention. It is a common, perhaps some will 
consider it as a trite, saying, that nations and govern- 
ments, considered as public bodies, resemble, in their 
growth and decline, the human body. 'J'he remark 
eminently applies to Rome, which had a long and 
feeble infancy ; a most vigorous youth ; a manhood 
proud, powerful, splendid, and vicious; of majestic 
size and commanding aspect, yet inwardly wasting 
with incurable disorders, and pregnant with tiie seeds 
of dissolution ; and a most disastrous and miserable 
13* 



1 50 ROMfi* 

old age. It may be thoiiirht fanciful, but the follow- 
ing view of the Iloman history will be divided into 
four parts^ with reference to these four d liferent ages 
or states observable in that history. The infancy of 
Rome may be extended to the expulsion of Tarquin, 
(U. C. 24.5) which will be the subject of this chap- 
ter. Its youth may be extended from thence to the 
conquest of Carthage, (U. C. 621) — its manhood, 
to the end of the reign of the Antonines, (U. C. 933,) 
and its old age, from thence to the reign of Augus- 
tuhis and its conquest by the Goths, upwards of twelve 
liundrcd years from its foundation. 

IJoniulus founded the city of Rome in the year of 
the world 3,252, and before Christ, 752 ; live years 
before the commencement of the era of Nabonassar ; 
1 lo years before that of Neljuchadnczzar ; in the 7th 
year of the reign of Jotham, kingof Judali ; 216 years 
before the taking of Babylon by Cyrus; and some 
years after the death of Lycurirus, the Spartan law- 
giver. That famous city stands (for it is at this day 
one ol' the finest cites in Europe) on the banks of 
the river Tiber, on the western sliores of Italy. Italy 
is a strip of land wliich projects from the southern part 
of Europe into the .Mediterranean sea. It is fancied 
by some to reseml)le a boot and spur, with the toe 
pointini^ toward (he l>land of Sicilv. It is thought 
to be about 600 miles long, and nearly 100 in breadth, 
it occupies a mild and pleasant region in the tem- 
perate zone; is well situated for commerce; has a 
tVuitful soil, and most of the natural advantages of the 
best countries in the world. 

From the verv high antiquity of the Roman state, 
it will be perceived, that tlie materials for writing its 
history must be scarce. These have been carefully 
economized by historians, and aniplitied and embel- 
lished by poets for more than two thousand }ears. 
But when we consider that the Romans were not a 
literary people till after thev bad conquered Greece, 
and especially when we consider the smallness and 



ROME. 1£1 

obscurity of their state during the period of their 
kingly government, we shall want no further evi- 
dencQ. that the accounts given even of that whole 
period, are not among the most credible parts of 
ancient history. The ancient writers all agree, that 
during the reign of the kings, their territories were 
almost limited to the city, and never extended filteen 
miles from it ; and tlicir wars were with j)ctty stales, 
like themselves. The events, therefore, recorded in 
this long and sterile period of their history, can have 
no importanre in themselves, and would never be 
worth detailing, were it not for the lustre, which is 
shed upon them by the greatness of Rome in succeed- 
ing ages. 

But as to the liistory of the kings of Rome, from 
Romuhis back to yEneas and the Trojan war, all the 
respect is due to it, which is ever due to the ingenius 
lictions of a strong poetic fancy ; and perhaps little 
more. There is, however, another reason why it is 
expedient to follow the thread-bare detail of the his- 
tory of the Roman kings. No history is so com- 
mon as that ; no one so much read, or so mu( h re- 
membered ; no one exists in so many forms, or has 
been altenipted by so many writers. Dr. Gold- 
smith's abridgment is exactly the thing, which 
ought to be written, were we to attempt to do it. 
Those, therefore, who wish to peruse a concise, but 
regular and formal detail of those events, are recom" 
mended to read that excellent abridgment. 

The kings of Rome succeeded one another in 
the following order; Romulus reigned 37 }ears; 
Numa Pompilius, 43; Tullus Hostilius, 32; xVncus 
IMartius, 24; Tarquinius Priscus, 38; Servius Tul- 
lius, 44; Tarquinius Snperbus,* 25; making in the 
"vvholo, together with several short interregnums, 245 
years. 

* Tarquinitis Prism? and Tarquinius Snperbus, are in Enfijlisb, 
most generally called Tarquin the Elder and Tarquin the Proud. 



159 ROME. 

If we may suppose that the Romans, while yet so 
very small, maintained their sovereignty and inde- 
pendence during so long a period, their affairs must 
have had a stabihty and regular order, which were 
the result of great wisdom and prudence. The most 
that can be said of them with certainty is, that their 
place remained the same. Its situation gave it many 
advantages, and it generally came off with an ascen- 
dency from tlie petty wars in which it was engaged. 
But it sometimes changed masters, and that with equal 
advantage to itself and its neighbors. Numa, the 
second king of Rome, was a Sabine, and from a city 
called Cures. From his time, therefore, and in 
honor to the place of his nativity, the Roman people 
were called Quirites. 

Numa employed his whole reign in regulating the 
affairs of religion and government, lie built several 
temples, among which was the celebrated temple of 
Janus, which was never to be shut but in time of 
peace. 

The Roman monarchy was elective ; and we may 
clearly discern, in the elections of their kings, that 
spirit of liberty which prevailed in all the ancient 
nations of Europe. A man was (juickly elevated or 
depressed by the voice of popular favor. 

In the early ages of the world, Italy was peopled 
with a hardy race of men, who lived without govern- 
ment, without restraint, and without any social order, 
except what had grown spontaneously from the dic- 
tates of nature, and the force of habit. Their tribes 
or clans were little more than the connexions and 
dependencies of particular families, wliich had grown 
numerous, and were taught to combine and arm for 
the pur[)oses of mutual defence. They lived free in 
the woods, and roved over the plains, subsisting upon 
the fortune of the chase. The country being highly 
favorable to agriculture, they were at h ngth induced 
to choose out for themselves convenient settlements; 
and this they did, as they were led by prospects of 



ROME. 1 5^ 

pleasure, honor, or advantac^e ; and the extensive 
country became at leniijth settled and divided into a 
great nunnbcr of small kidependent states or sove- 
reif:^nties. Each of these, tenacious of its rii^hts, 
honors, and territories — ambitious of military fame, 
and thirstiPi; for concjuest, was continually seeking ad- 
vantai^e a^'ainst all its neiiihbors. Hence arose per- 
p<Uual wars, conquests, and revolutions. A city was 
a state, a republic, a kingdom, or an empire ; every 
monarch was a general, and every citizen a soldier. 

A settlement of this description, founded by^ Ro- 
mulus, had for many years been seated on the banks 
of the Til)er. They had been repeatedly engaged in 
wars with their neighbors, and irenerally came off 
with advantage. Nor is it unlikely that they had 
during this pci-iod, outgrown the surrounding states, 
in power, wealth, policy, and general improvement. 
Alter llomuius, six kings succes^ively had ascended 
the throne, when in the rei-^^n of Tarcjuin the Proud, 
an event took place which caused a revolution in 
their government, and, probably, was the first step 
toward their future aggrandizement. 

Tarquin,the present monarcli, to secure the crowH 
in his own family, had murdered all the descendants 
of I'arquin the lOlder, his grandfatlier, except Lucius 
Junius Brutus, the son of a daughter of that prince, 
■who feigned himself an idiot, to escape the tyrant's 
rage, and who was on that account called Briitus, or 
the fool. Him. the king kept in his house, for the 
purpose of making sport for his children, 'i'arquin, 
by his cruel and haughty conduct, had ac(juireil the 
surname of Superbus, or the Proud. He had waded 
10 the throne throui^h the blood of all the royal family, 
and every year of his reign w>js marked wilh acts 
of cruelty and oppressive vi-KiKe, His name was 
become odious, and his people L^'nerally wished lor 
nothing more than his downf.ill. This event, being 
intimately connected witiitlie sudden (devation of 
the Roman state, deserves a paiticulai attentioQ, 



154 ROME. 

Sextus, tbo kind's Fon, while bis father was at the 
head of the arrnv, he^ie<;ing Ardea, a iutighhi)riiig 
cily, viohited the honor of Lucrctia, a Konuin lad\ of 
great spirit, and still j^rreater virtue. The illustrious 
heroine s-irvived the disirrace long- enuiiu'h to ac- 
quaint her husband and Iriends with her mi^fortu[le, 
antl to entreat them as they regarded her memory, 
to lake vengeance on her destroyer. She then drew 
a poinard I'rom her robe, and plunging it into her 
bosom, expired belbre their eyes. 

Collatinus, her husjband, and her friends, stood 
round lii^r, pt'tiilicd with grief, and distracted with 
rage and despair. J3ut their grief was fur a moment 
arrested and turned into astonishment, when Brutus, 
the reputed fool, seized the bloody daijger, and lifting 
it loward heaven, exclaimed, *' Be w itness. ve gods, 
that fiom tins moment, I proclaim myself the a\enger 
of the chaste Lucretia's cause; from this moment I 
declare myself the enemy of Tarquin, and his bloody 
house; henceforth mv life, shall be employed in oppo- 
sition to t) ranny, and for the lVeed.>m and hapfjiness 
ot my country." lie then told them, that tears and 
ia»m Illations must now give way to the sterner senti- 
ments of just revenge ; and delivering them the poin- 
ard, slill reeking with Lucretia's blood, caused each 
of them to swear the same oath, which he had sworn. 
The Roman people flo< ked together from all quar- 
ters, and were struck with horror at the deplorable 
spectacle; and were equally amazed to behold the 
authority, and wisdom of Junius Brutus. The re- 
volt from the tyrant was general ; and the senate 
passed a decree depriving the king of all authority, 
and banishing him and his famil} forever from the 
Roman state. He lived, however, to give his country^ 
men much trouble ; for, though a detestable tyrant, 
void of every principle of humanity and justice, yet 
he was bold, active, and vigorous, and found means 
to excite frequent disturbances, and even to enkindle 
dangerous wars against his country. 



EOMK. 1 55 

We have now passed over 245 years from the 
founding of the Roman state ; and, in looking back 
on this period, we perceive few incidents particular- 
ly worthy to be drawn into this compend — nothing 
which would reflect useful light on the character, or 
form useful combinations with the future history of the 
Romans. Like a single vessel, moving ak>ne on the 
ocean, the Romans as yet remained wholly discon- 
nected with the affairs and destinies of the great na- 
tions, of which we have spoken in former chapters. 
But durine: this period, the Assyrian empire had fall- 
en ; Babylon was become a province of Persia ; and 
C} rus had extended his dominions from the Indian to 
the Atlantic ocean; and a power was already prepared 
to eclipse forever the glory of the Persians. Greece 
was now fast rising ; the morning of her brightest 
day evidently dav\ned. Before the fall of Tarquin. 
Miltiades, Leonidas. and I'hemistocles were born. 
During this period, also, the Jews, having experienci d 
a caj)tivity o\' 70 yeais, were restored by Cyrus — 
had returned and rebuilt their temple at Jerusalem. 

It may not be improper to close tliis chapter by 
noticing to tlie reader, that, in most of the earlier' 
dates, such as those of the founding of Athens, 
Thebes, and Rome, the Trojan war, Homer, Hesiod, 
and many othc rs, Dr. Priestly stands almost alone, 
making tho«e ancient dates much later than most 
other chronoh gers. lie has followed Sir Isaac New- 
ton, whose plan, however, as the Doctor acknowl- 
edges, has not been adopted by any other chronohiger 
excepting himself. Newton's scheme avoids appa- 
rent inconveniences; pai-ticularly it renjedies the 
noted anachronii-m of iljjeas and Dido, and gives 
those two celebrited pers( nages an opportunity of 
becoming acquainted. But it is quite doubtful, 
whether the queen of Carthage would not rather 
choose, that the old chronoh^gy shpuld remain in 
credit ; which places them about a century apart. 



156 ROME. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE ROMAN EMPIRE,* FROM THE EXPULSION OF TARQUIN 
TO THE CONQUEST OF CARTHAGE. 

THE great and vic^oroiis spirit of T^uciiis Junius 
Brutus, display(>(J in avcnginc; the death oi" Lucrrlia, 
m;^y be regarded as a brilhant specimen of that pow- 
er and grandeur of nriind, in whicii the Ixomans sur- 
passed all other nations, hotli ancient and modern. 
in variety of genius and taste, the Grec ks cei-taiidy 
excelled them ; but in a niasculine boldness — in a 
grave, dignified, martial energy, the Romans were 
never equalled. Brutus and his associates were able 
to dethrDue a powerful tyrant; to abolish a mon- 
archy, which had existed several centuries; and to 
organize and put in operation a n(^w form of govern- 
ment, under which tiie Roman people rose to the 
sublinjest heights of [)Ower, prosperity, and splendor. 

The Roman government, duritig tfie reicjn of the 
kings, had, in its original spirit and dcsic^n. (Muliraced 
many of the principles oJ freeilom. 'i'he king was 
assisted fty a council, consisting of a hundred sena- 
tors, which nurr ber was increased at various times. 
These were men advMnced in years, and vencrallc 
for their knowledge, prudence aiifl integritj^ 1 he 
most important acts of ^[overnmcnt were generally 
sancticMied l)y an assendly of the people. or plebitms; 
partic uhjrly, acts relative to peace or war. the raiisnig 
of money, the a[)f)oinlment of chief magistrates, and 
the election of the monarch. 

But the kings, and especially Tarcjuin, had, in a 
great measure, aet(d independently of all these salu- 
tary checks. To a\oid these inconveniences, the 
kuigly r.ftxe was new abolished ; and, in the place of 
it, two ollicers were created, styled consuls. 'J'heir 

* The woni empire is hrre iisrtl in its popv.lr.r fcn«p, lo repre- 
sent merely goveruu.eiil, or domiuicii, >\illK>ul rcl'creuce to it5 
lerm. 



ROME. 157 

power was nearly as great, as that of the king ; but 
the division of it, and the frequency of election 
which was once a year, were considered as sufficient 
checks, Junius Brutus and Collatinus, the husband 
of the celebrated Lucrctia, were first chosen consuls. 

This new form of government was brought to the 
brink of ruin almost in the moment of its formation. 
The deposed monarch found means to organize a 
dangerous conspiracy among the young nobility of 
IloQje ; the object of which was to eliect a counter 
revolution, and replace himself on the throne; and 
the brave and patriotic Brutus had the unhappiness 
to discover that two of his sons were among the rin<^- 
Icnders in this daring plot. The nature of his office 
romjjrilcd him to sit in judgment upon them ; and 
\\hilc, in this deeply interesting scene, all the specta- 
tors were melted into tears, in \m\\ the most powerful 
pleas of natural affiction were overruled by a srnsc 
of duty; the parent was lost in the judge, and the 
agonies of parental sensibility disregarded before the 
tribunal of public justice. He pronounced sentence 
U])on his sons condemning th( ni to death. 

But this great man did not live long to enjoy either 
the liberty, which he procured for his country, or the 
honors, which he so justly merited. Tarcjuin, failing 
to recover his throne by intrigue, next attempted it by 
arms. He prevailed on the Veians, a neighboring 
state, to espouse his cause, and to furnish him with an 
army. Of this arn>y he took the cnniinand,a!id gave 
the cavalry to be commanded by Aruns, his son. They 
were met by the consul with an equal force, and a gen- 
eral bajtle was fought, in which the Romans claimed 
the victory, althou'/h dearly bought ; for, together 
will) a number of their bravest citizens, the illustrious 
Brutus ftll, in the first of the action. Aruns, the son 
of Tai-(juijM had singled him out, and they encounter- 
ed each other with sui.h fury, that both W(re slain, and 
ff 11 flead together by mutual wounds. The Wians, 
sufficiently humbled by this rebuke, were willing to 
make peace. 

14 



158 ROME. 

But of all the enemies whom Tarquin brought 
against his country, Porsenna, the king of Etruria, 
was the most formidable. This prince, who was then, 
probably, one of the most powerful in Italy, seems, 
from motives of jealousy, to have been willing to en- 
gage in a war with the Romans. To him Tarquin ap- 
plied ; and was soon furnished with a force, which at 
first bid fair to re-seat him on his throne. 

Porsenna marched immediately toward Rome, at 
the head of a powerful army; and meeting with no 
resistance, he laid siege to the city. After several 
furious assaults and sallies the siege was terminated 
by one of those singular events, which strongly mark 
the savage ferocity and wonderful patriotism of the 
heroic ages. The length and strictness of the siege 
had reduced the city to the utmost dii^tress of faniine, 
when Mutius, a Roman youth of the most daring 
courage and desperate resolution, approached the 
camp of Porsenna, and finding access to the place 
where the king stood with some of his ofiicers, he 
made up to the group, and stabbed the person, whom 
he supposed to be the kin:^ to the heart ; but it was 
the king's secretary. Mutius was seized ; and it was 
demanded of him who he was, and what were his 
designs. lie told them, that he was a l^oman, and 
that there were three hundred Roman youths, who, 
like himself, had determined to ellcct the kinjj-s de- 
struction. *' Therefore," said he, " prepare for their 
attempts ; and you shall see that the Jtomans know 
how to suffer as well as to act." At this, he thrust 
iiis hnnd into the fire, and sulfered it to burn witk 
great composure. 

Porsenna, amazed at such intrepid bravery, was 
seized with a fit of generosity quite as enthusiastic 
and extraordinary and ordered him to be conducted 
back to Rome, and at the same time olFered the be- 
sieged conditions of peace, which they accepted, and 
a period was put to the war. 

The Roman commonwealth, in every part of its 
duration, was incessantly harassed with internal dis- 



ROxME. 159 

putrfs, broils, divisions, intrisjues and conspiracies : 
and tii^v were gcneraUy settled by the mediation of 
tlie sword ; though not always by the sword of civil 
war. Their bold, restless, activ^e spirits were best 
gratified and s-oonest quieted in martial exercises; and 
could ordv be controlled by martial law. Of course 
theirs wjis in most respects a military government. 

^Ten years from the commcncemmt of the Roman 
repul)lir, I^ar«cius wa< appointed first dictator. The 
title itself explains the general nature of this office. 
The dictator was clothed with power to dictate, i. c. 
to direct all the branches, and all the officers of the 
government. His powt r was sovereign and absolute 
as that of the most unlimited monarch. He was 
only cho<;en in limes of difficulty and danger, when 
the utmost energy of the state was to be exerted ; 
and his power expired at the end of a certain period. 

Soon after the iru'asion of Porsenna, and 15 years 
fiom the expulsion of 'I'arcpiin, a contention arose be- 
Iween the senate and the peojde, which gave rise to 
the appointment of Tribunes. These were officers 
chosen annually from am«)ng the people. They were 
rlotlied with considerable powt-is,;;..! ^VCf^ designed 
as the immediate ;r!iardians of the people against the 
power of the senate and consids. They were at 
first five, and afterwards ten in number; and seal.^ 
were prepared for them near the doors of the senate 
house ; and they were at times called in to ratify the 
laws which were passod in the senate. 

The most eminent character, found in the first part 
of the annals of tlie ancient republic of Rome, is that 
of QulHtus Cincinnatus. If is chief services were in 
the year '295 from the building of the city, and in 
the 50th from the fall of'Tarquin. We have alrea- 
dy mentioned the frequent disputes and divisions, 
which prevailed between the two orders of Roman 
citizens. These, which ran high on all occasions, 
had but a little time before this, come very near to 
■ending in pieces and extinguishing the republic for 



IGO ROME. 

ever. The popularity, banisliment, wnrs, restoration 
ajid death of Coriolanus, so famous in the Roman 
history, cannot have a place in this brief narration. 
Those events, while they distracted the councikand 
exhaustf.'d the resources of Rome, emboldened her 
ciK^mios to make new aggressions. 

'I'he forces of the[.*E(jui and \'olsri liad invaded the 
Roman territories ; had surrounded and were like to 
destroy the consul Minulius and his army ; who inad- 
vertently suflered himself to be pent in between two 
mountains, whence he could not retreat but by en- 
countering llie enemy. At the same time political 
disputes were carried on with such warmth at llomc, 
that most men were wholly ruled by the most violent 
party spirit. All union and energy were lost ; and 
the more discerning saw the ruin of the conmion- 
wcalth impending. The Romans had, on a former 
occasion, experienced the great virtue and authority 
of Cincinnatus. To him, therefore, all eyes were 
now turrird. as the most suitable instrument for dc' 
livciing their country. 

Jn the 50th year from the expulsion of Tarquin, a 
solemn b^pf^d'jn 'Tab sent to Q. Cincinnatus, from the 
senate, to invest him with the sovereign powers of 
dictator. 'J'hey found him industriously laboring in 
his tield. }fe had a farm, consisting only of a few 
acres, which he cultivated with his own hands, for 
the support of his family. On the arrival of the 
senatorial message, he showed some concern for the 
neglect, with which he should be obliged to treat his 
plantation ; but showed no marks of vanity or pride 
at his sudden elevation. Jle took leave of hi? family 
with apparent regret and repaired to the capitol. 
He immediately Dominated, as a captain of bis caval- 
ry, Tarquitius. a man in similar circumstances, and 
of like character with himself. 

He issued bis orders with mildness, but with such 
authority, dignity and decision, as none can assume 
excepting those great and vigorous spirits, which ar<' 



ROME. IQ\ 

lormed for command. He gave orders, that every 
citizen who could bear arms, should appear before 
sunset in the Campus Martins, with arms, and provi- 
sions for five days. His orders were obeyed ; and an 
army was immediately assembled. At their head, 
( the dictator began his march that evening; and be- 
fore day, came within sight of the hostile army. As 
they approached the enem\'s camp, C'incinnatus or- 
dered his men to give a loud shout ; which was heard 
by the blockaded army, and understood to be a token, 
. that relief was near. The enemy, finding themselves 
. between two armies, prepared for battle. A severe 
i engagement ensued ; but the bravery and conduct of 
^ the dictator procured the Romans a complete victo- 
f* ry. The spoils of the enemy's camp were valuable. 
These C'incinnatus ordered to be divided among his 
own army, without allowing the army which he had 
liberated to share with them in any'^thing ; holding 
it as a maxim, that, as they could not defend thcm- 
t Ives, they merited nothing. 

But, what is regarded as most remarkable in this 
transaction, Cineinnalns, though a poor man, took 
nothing of all (ho wealth, of which he had the con- 
trol and distribution, to himself. Nor would he ac- 
cept any thing from the senate, who regarded him as 
the deliverer of his country ; and, froni gratitude for 
his important services, would gladly have bestowed 
npon him the richest presents. Very many have cel- 
ebrated, but vcnif,w have imitated, his virtues. If. 
was satisfied with the consciousness of havinir done 
his duty, and \\i^i\y merited a great and lasliniTfiime. 
The.^ear 302 from the building of the city, and 
about si\l\ from the commencement of the republlr. 
may be ci^nsidered as an important era in the histor\ 
ol Rome. The eontrntions between the various or- 
ders of the state, for privilege, prerogative, and pow- 
er, still raged without intermission^ till, at length, 
about this period, all parties, growing weary of these 
disturbances, united in an expedient, which at on. *- 
14* 



162 ROME. 

shows the wisdom and greatness of the Roman ehar- 
acter. 1 hey unaniinuuslj deterndned on introduc- 
ing a body of written laws ; whose influence might 
prevent as well as punish crimes, and especially tl«at 
thereby the decisions of the magistrates might be 
governed by known and fixed [)rinciples. 

Posthumius, Sulpicius, and Manlius, three senators 
of high rank, whom the sullragc of the Roman peo- 
ple had declared worthy of so great a trust, were im- 
mediately sent to Athens and other Greek cities, to 
consult their laws, to extract from them a code of 
such as were most approved, and report them to their 
fellow-citizens in due time. In the course of a year 
this business was accomplished. These ambassadors 
returned, and brought with them a body of laws, 
which they had selected from the most celebrated 
systems of Greece. These were formed into ten 
tables, two others being sometime after added, mak- 
ing: tlie number twelve. This was that famous code 
of laws known by the name of the " laws ol the 
twelve tables.*' Many fragments of this body of laws 
remain until the present time. 

Nations in general, when they enjoy good gov- 
crnment and excellent laws, resemble a body in per* 
feet health — a body, in which the various animal and 
vital functions are complete and vigorous. This now 
hegan to be the condition of Rome. 'I'hough it had 
not experienced much increase of territory, yet its 
numbers, strength, experience and wisdom, were fast 
risir^g to power and conquest. It must not, however, 
be understood, that Rome was yet free from political 
disputes, or even from outrageous infractions of law^ 
and justice. That time she was destined never to see. 

^Vhen the laws of the twelve tables were adopted, 
a new kind of magistracy was created. Ten persons 
called decemvirs, were appointed to see to the ad- 
ministration of government, as d to enforce the au- 
thority of the laws. Their reign was of short dura^ 
lion. It began well j but ended id disgrace and mis- 



ROME. 1 63 

fortune. The term of their administration ended in 
the consummate villany of Appius, one of their num- 
ber, and in the atl'ettini^ story of Virginius and his 
daughter ; for which the reader must be referred to 
the Roman history. '^Vo tiiem succeeded another 
kind of magistrates, called military tribunes ; and 
these were again succeeded b) consuls, according to 
the first form of the republic. 

But it would be improper, in this work, to attempt 
to trace the Roman government through its tortuous 
course, or to enter into the various controversies of 
those early times. Whoever expects to find a Uae 
government without continual disputes, divisions, in- 
trigues, innovations, and revolutions, must be a stran- 
ger to the human character, as displayed in the history 
of nations. AVhere all power and authority originate 
with the people, and are under the control and diiec- 
tion of their sufTrage, there is too wide and alluring a 
prospect for ambitious men to neglect. They never 
did neglect it, and they never will. 

After Cincinnatus, the Roman history presents us 
with no character worthy of particular notict , till 
the times of the illustrious Camillus ; nor with any 
considerable event, till the formidable invasion of 
Rome by the Gauls, under the command of Brennus. 
This will carry us forward through a period of about 
sixty years, during which, however, the Roman state 
had made considerable advances in population, 
territory, and the art of war. Camillus had yielded 
the most important services to the state ; had conquer- 
ed several cities, and by a long course o^ conduct, 
had risen to the highest honors among his country- 
men. This was suflicient to draw down upon him 
a storm of envy and jealousy, which all his wisdom, 
power, and popularity could not sustain. The tri- 
bunes, always turbulent and clamorous, and often un- 
just and cruel, roused the public resentment against 
him by pretending, that he had embezzled and secret- 
ed much of the plunder taken in the city of Veii'j 



^ 



184 ROME. 

and they appointed a day on which he was to appear 
before the people in his own defence. Conscious of 
his innocence, yet disdaining the mortifying indigni- 
ty of sustaining a public trial before a people, whom 
he had laid under such high obligations, and whose 
resentment he knew had rather sprung from their 
envy of his virtue than from any other cause, he took 
leave of his friends, and evaded the approaching 
storm by going into voluntary exile. 

The triumph of the tribunes and the plebians, on 
the fall of this great man, was of short duration. A 
storm far more teirible menaced the whole state, 
than he had fled to escape. 

We have, in a former chapter, had occasion to 
mention the Scythian hordes, which in ancient 
times, inhabited the v/ilds of Europe and Asia — 
which, like an inundation, at various times flowed 
down upon the more civilized nations ; or, like swarms 
of locusts, seemed to darken the sun and the air. 
The ancient inhabitants of Germany and France, re- 
srmi)led them in those respects, in which they were 
most formidable. France was then called Gaul. 
'I'he Gauls were men of great size and strength. 
They were exceedingly bold, fierce, and terrible in 
war. It is said, that even a glance of their eye was 
so terrible, as to dismay and alfrighten armies. A 
numerous body of these had, tv;o centuries before this, 
crossed the Alps and settled in the northern parts of 
Italy ; and had long been a terror to all the countr}^ 
Bff^nnus, th.eir warlike cliieftain, was at tliis time at 
their head, bosicging Chisium, a city of Ftruria. 

The martial spirit of the Romans being roused at 
so near an approach of this hostile nation, and being 
earnestly solicited by that city to send them aid, 
tl»ey dispatched ambassadors to Brennus, to demand 
of him what right he had to invade that city. The 
Gaul sternly replied that the *• rights of valiant men 
lay in their swords;** and demanded, in reutrn, what 
right the Romans had to the many cities they had 



ROME. 165 

conquered.' The ambassadors, displeased with the 
hauglity style of Brennus, and most certainly, on tliis 
occasion either forgetful or ignorant of their duty, 
immediately entered the city, and took an active part 
in the war. 

Brennus was enraged at the conduct of the am- 
bassadors, and forthwith raising the siege of Clusium, 
he marched directly to Rome, probably glad of a 
pretence for effecting a preconcerted measijre. 

Rome had now stood 364 years, and had been a 
republic 119. Its territories were considerably ex- 
tended ; and the city itself was become opulent, 
splendid and powerful. The neighboring cities had 
fallen under its power, and those more distant were 
^ willing either to pay homage for their independence, 
or seek the alliance of the Romans. The Gallic king 
t could not but believe, that if he conquered Rome, 
I,, the empire of Italy would follow of course; and per- 
'■ liaps one much greater. It will be remembered that 
the Gauls, about this time, attempted both Greece 
and Asia, and that with considerable success. From 
iiie former they were expelled by Sosthenes; and 
from the latter, by Antioehus Soter; as noticed in 
our view of Greece and Syria. 

The Romans were apprised of the approaching^ 
danger, and sent an army, composed of the flower of 
their republic, to meet and oppose the Gauls. An 
obstinate and bloody battle was fought, in which the 
Romans were utterly defeated, and their ai my des- 
troyed. Brennus, elated with victory, and still 
breathing revenire and fu?-y, continued his march to- 
wards Rome. Jn a word, he entered the city w itlout 
resistance, burnt it to the ground, and put the inliabi- 
tants to the sword. Nothing seemed now to remain 
of the Roman state capable of defending itself, hut the 
celebrated cn})itol; where a body of the bravest of 
the Romans held out against every etFort of the Gauls, 
Brennus at length grew wear\ of the siege, and 
proposed to the Romans, that if they would pay him 



166 liOME. 

ono thousand poiinrls wciclit of ifold, he would draw 
of]' his army, and e^ive them no fiirtiiortrouhlo, They 
2cccpici\ the proposal, and the ijold was produced. 
But while it was weiijhinif, some of the Gauls at- 
tempted to kick the heam. (o prevent a just weicht. 
The Romans complained of so fliju^rant an inju^^tice; 
but Brcnnus immediately cast his sword into the 
b:dnnce, and <rave them to undfrstand. that tlu-ir 
complaints would be u-^^eless — that they must tbitdc 
of nothinc: hut compliance to the will of their impe- 
rious concjueror. 

At that momont intelliirenee was brouslit that 
Camillus, the general wliom they had so unjustly 
banished, was approachinir at tho head of an armv. 
lie had heard of the calarnijit's of his country; and, 
hav'infj raised a hody of forces, was so f(»rtunate as to 
arrive at that critical moment, when his presence 
was necessary, and his exertions etFectual to the salva- 
tion of his country. Canjillus entered the place 
where the business was traiisactinij:, and immediately 
order' d the Romans to take l)ack the grolH whence 
it was brought : telli'^'^ '^'■'*'^'^'"' --'•- ^- ••••»-- ' * 

\.y as that of the barbarian, that the Romans were in 
the use not to purchase peace with money, hut with 
iron. 

The presence of this crreat man revived the drocp- 
in^jf spii'ils o( his countrymen. Thev rallied round 
his standard ; and encounterini: the barbarians ^^ ith 
the most resolute bravery, defeated and almost en- 
tirely cut them off: and thus Rome was delivered 
from the most danG:erous enemy, if we except Han- 
nibal, that she was to see for many a^^es. 

The Roman peojile, in these ancient times, ex- 
Inbited the stranirest mixture of bravery, superstition, 
barbarity, discipline, enthusiasm, levity and wisdom. 
They were coritinually encacred in war, and were 
generally successful. But the dreadful cbastisemeni 
they received from the hand of I5rennus and the 
Gauls, was attended by consequences as lasting as 



ROME. 167 

deploraLle. Their territories, still but small, were 
ravaged; their city, laid in ashes; many of their 
bravest men killed in battle ; and their resources, se- 
verely drained, though not exhausted : for their resour- 
ces, as yet, were not money, nor strong fortresses, nor 
large territories, nor numbers, nor powerful allies. 
Their resources consisted in firm, determined spirits; 
great souls, fearless of danger or of death ; minds 
strong, bold, intrepid and persevering. To brave dan- 
ger Wiis to them the field of glory ; and their only al- 
ternative was death or victory. They enjoyed victory 
or endured defeat with equal moderation ; and this 
they were able to do beyond any other nation ; be- 
cause nature had endued them with independent, 
unconquerable minds, and with invincible bravery 
and magnanimity. 

After the invasion of the Gauls, they rose more ex- 
perienced, more warlike, more formidable, than ever. 
We soon see them engaged in a war with the Sam- 
iiitcs, the most powerful nation then in Italy. This 
y.AV lasted many years, and was attended with 
various turns of fortune; and when it was likely to 
terminate in complete victory and triumph on the 
side of the Romans, an event took place, which 

omed once more to tlireaten the existence of the 
Roman nation. 

The Samnites, overpowered by the bravery and 
discipline of the Romans, sent for aid to r> rrhus. the 
celebrated king of Epirus, of whom we have already 
taken some notice. It ^as generally thought impos- 
^ sible for the Romans to contend successfully with 
this great commander. Jle had been fi)rmed in the 
art of war, upon the maxims and examples of Alex- 
ander and Epaminondas ; and notwithstanding the de- 
generacy of the Greeks and Asiatics, from whom the 
military spirit had long since departed, had been able 
to inspire the armies he commanded with his own 
heroic virtues. He had found no equal in Egypt or 
Asia. Happy would it have been ibr him, had he 



168 ROME. 

pursued more closely the footsteps of Alexander, and 
especially had he kept at a distance from Italy; 
though even that might not have saved him from a 
collision with the growing power of the Romans. 

Pyrrhus immediately prepared to answer the re- 
quest of the Samnites. He emharked from Epirus, 
with an army of twenty thousand foot and three thou- 
sand horse, and twenty elephants ; hut in crossing (he 
Adriatic sea, his fleet was dispersed in a storm, and 
many of his vessels were lost. Although his arma- 
ment was greatly diminished, he still thou'^ht the 
remnant more ttian a match for the rude and harha- 
rous people of Italy. His judgment of the Romans 
was prohahly not dissimilar to that formed of the 
American people before the revolutionary war ; at 
which time some imagined, that a few thousand regu- 
lar troops would strike an awe through the continent, 
and that the semi-barbarians of the colonies would 
never dare to face disciplined and vrteran troops. 

But Pyrrhus found the Romans not so rude and 
barbarous, as he expected. Tl»e first view he had of 
their military order and skill, struck him with sur- 
prise ; and the first victory he gained, in all probabil- 
ity, utterly extinguished his hopes of subduing the 
Romans. It is worthy of remark how differently the 
Romans received this invasion of Pyrrhus, from what 
the Persians did th:il of Alexander. P\ rrhus found 
the Piomans ready to receive him ; and when he of- 
fered to mediate between them and tl^e Snmnites. he 
was answered by Lcevinus, the consul, that the Ro- 
man people neither respected him as a mediator, nor 
feared him as an enemy. 

The first bailie was fought on the banks of the 
river Lyris. Pjrrhus drew up ins army witli tiic ut- 
most skill ; nor was there a want of skill and discern- 
ment in the order and movements of the Roman? : 
and here was first seen contrasted the Grecian pha- 
lanx with the Roman legion : nor have the ablest 
tacticians been positive in determining which, on all 



ROME. 169 

accounts, was preferable. The loose array of the le- 
gion c^ave celerity to its evolutions, and certainly ad- 
mitted of various conveniences; but the close and 
firm strength of the phalanx, by condensing the 
physical force, rendered its impression more certain, 
and its sljock more dreadful. 

The field, on both parts, was managed with great 
Skill, and was fought with the most determined bra- 
very. Motives of safety and of lienor wrought pow- 
erfully with both generals, and both armies : and it 
is probable, that few battles have been more severe. 
But the Greeks at length prevailed ; and Pyrrhus by 
the aid of his elephants, which were sent among the 
Romans, gained a complete victory. The Romans 
WLTC put to flight, leavintc fifteen thousand men dead 
on the field of battle. But the loss of I'yrrhus was 
not much inferior: insomuch that, while some wv re 
congratulating him on account of his victory, he is I 
said pathetically to have exclaimed, that another 
such victory would ruin him. 

Pyrrhus once more tried the virtue of negociation. 
He sent Cineas, a man of great eloquence, who had 
been the scholar of Demosthenes, ambassador to 
Rome. But this attempt, like the foimer, was with- 
out success. 'I'he Romans were deaf to all proposals 
of acconimodation short of Pyrrhus's retiring out 
of Italy. Neither eloquence nor bribery, neither 
threats nor persuasions, could produce any etlVi t on 
that haughty, determined people. The war was 
therefore renewed with great vigor on both sides; 
and various battles were fought, with more success to 
the Romans; till at length Pyrrhus was totally de- 
feated and his army cut in pieces. Giving up all 
hopes, therefore, of ellbcling any thing against so 
brave and powerfil an enemy, he was forced to cm- 
bark in haste, and leave his allies to the inevitable 
fate of subjugation by the victorious Romans. Pyrr- 
hus, however, left a garri^^on in the city of Taren- 
tum, and advised the Tarentincs to support their 
15 



170 ROME. 

cause \Tith what vigor they could, till he could have 
time to levy more forces in Greece and return. But 
he probably had Httle expectation of ever returning 
to those shores, where he had experienced so severe 
a reverse of fortune, it is certain he never did re- 
turn ; nor did he ever seem to recover the current of 
his former good fortune. 

The Tarcntines, who had been the principal lead- 
ers in the war of the Samnites, were now left to 
struggle with the Romans ; nor would the struggle 
have been long, had they not made application for 
aid to another foreign power. While the garrison 
left by Pyrrhus tyrannized in the city, and the Ro- 
mans were masters of the country round tiiem, they 
appHed to the Carthaginians for succor, as their last 
and only resort. 

We have already made mention of the Cartha- 
ginians. As early as the invasion of Greece by 
Xerxes, they were powerful both by sea and land; 
and furnished, according to some writers, an army 
of 300,000 men, who operated in conjunction with 
the Persians. They were 'willing, it appears, to in- 
terfere with the Romans, of whose growing power 
they had long been jealous. They soon drew a 
powerful fleet into tlie harbor of Tarenlum, with a 
view to check the progress of the Roman arms. It 
had not, however, the desired effect. The Romans 
found means to corrupt and bring over the garrison 
to their interest; in consequence of which the city 
was taken, its walls and fortifications demolished, and 
the inhabitants were granted their liberty, and pro- 
tection from the Romans. 

The military spirit, as we have seen in the former 
pai't of this compend. passed from the Assyrians to 
the Persians, from them to the Greeks, and from the 
Greeks to the Carthaginians. Though the origins 
of Rome and Carthage, according to many writers, 
were not very far distant, in point of time, yet the 
latter rose first to consequence ; and while Rome was 



ROME, 171 

only a single city, and the Romans an obscure horde, 
the Carthaginians, by their fleets, kept the shores of 
the Mediterranean in awe, possessed the islands of 
that sea; had, in fact, passed the straits of Gibraltar; 
coasted down the African peninsula, and up the 
shores of Europe, through the British channel; and, 
it is thought, had reached tke coasts of Norway, if 
not even the shores of the Baltic sea. They form 
one of the numerous proofs, and one not the least 
splendid, of the power and consequence, which com- 
merce will give a nation. 

We shall here digress a moment, by giving a brief 
sketch of the rise and greatness of Carthage ; a 
power Avhich held a long and doubtful contest with 
Ro.ne for empire; nor would she have failed in that 
contest, )f while lier fleets and armies were victorious 
abroad, she had not been weakened by disunion, and 
ent by factions at home. 

Cartilage was founded by a colony from ancient 
Pha^nicia, a country lying at the east end of tlie 
Mediterranean, whose chief cities were Tyro and 
Sidon. If we might rely on Virgil's authority, this 
famous city was founded by Dido, the sister-in-law 
of Pygmalion, king of Tyre, about the lime of the 
destruction of Troy. According to the stojT of the 
Latin poet, iEneas, the Trojan prince, whp had es- 
caped the ruins of his country, was driven by a storm 
on the coast of Africa, and there had an interview 
with Dido, the founder and queen of Carthage. 

That virtuous and lovely cjueen, whose constancy 
to the memory of her husband Sicha^us, even surpass- 
ed the fame of Penelope, rtceivcd the fugitive Tro- 
jans, rescued them from the utmost distress, and pro- 
tected them from the barbarous customs of the hostile 
people on whose shores they were cast. To reward 
her for this, a plot was laid in heaven, among the 
principal deities, for her destruction. Cupid the god 
of love, was sent down to assume the form of Asca- 
nius, the son of ^ncas, to inflame the passions of 



1 72 ROME. 

Dido, while Venus lent all her aid to the hero him- 
self. So soon as the powers of heaven combined, 
had enabled him to triumph in the most complete 
seduction of his bonefacfrcss. Mercury comes flying- 
down in all haste to apprise him that it is now lime 
to be gone. And, like all other villains, whose 
triumph over innocence is followed with indifference 
and disgust, he hastens awaj. The queen, unable 
to bear his enormous ingratitude and peerless atro- 
city, kills herself in dispair. 

Did it accord with the temper and genius of Virgil 
to make his favorite hero the instrument of such dis- 
tress and destruction to iiuiocence and virtue? Did 
.Jie think it would do honor to the gods of his country 
to father upon them as dark a plot as ever was fabri- 
cated in hell? Did he think it would be an additonal 
gem in thcdiadom of /Eneas, to make him trample on 
the virtue of the Tyrian queen ? Or, in a word, did 
he imagine, that, by the introduction of his wonted 
machinery, a veil of sanctity would he thrown over 
the whole, and cover all its deformities? 

But, though it would seem extraordinary that 
Virgil should, through ignorance or choice, fall into 
such a glaring anachronism, yet it is certain that the 
best authorities place the foundini^ of Carthage at a 
great distance from t!ie destruction of Troy. Ac- 
cording to the opinion of the learned Bochart, the 
city of Carthage was built about the time of Joshua's 
conquest of Canaan. The territories of Tyre and 
Sidon were allotted to the tribe of Asher; and many 
of the Phoenicians, at that time to avoid a war of exter- 
mination, went on board their vessels, and sought for 
new establishments. A company of them landed and 
made a settlement on the African shore, a few miles 
from where the city of Tunis now stands. Thei*e 
ihev laid the foimdation of Carthage. But this was 
two ceniui'ies and a half br-fore the siesje of rroy. 
Bochart, in this opifiion, has followed i'nr best ancient 
authorities; and he has been followed by the able&t 



ROtefii 173 

chronologers since his time, who, moreover, fix the 
emigration of Dido to the African shore nearly two 
centuries and a half after the Trojan war. 

The Carthaginians, descended from a people whom 
long voyages and extensive commerce had rendered 
enterprising and bold, followed the footsteps, and 
soon went far beyond their mother couiitry. Their 
commerce, which embraced almost every species of 
traffic, extended to all parts of the known world. 
Their ships were in the Mediterranean and Red 
seas, and in many parts of the Indian and Atlantic 
oceans. 

But we cannot notice here their wars and revolu- 
tions. They seem however not to have interfered 
much with the great monarchies of Asia ; and it is 
certain, that their power by sea was, in general, their 
security against invasion. The first notice we have 
taken of them was in the invasion of Greece by 
Xerxes. Him they furnished with an army to invade 
Sicily; which invasion, by means of weakness in the 
directing head, proved unfortunate in all its parts. 
But Sicily, however, and most other islands in the 
Mediterranean, soon after that invasion, lell under 
the power of Carthage. 

Under the name of a republic, the Carthaginians 
■were generally governed by a set of powerful men, 
who never wanted for means to procure their own 
appointment to the most important offices. Nor can 
it be said that Carthage ever enjoyed the free and 
independent spirit of Rome. 

The government and policy of the Carthaginians, 
as indeed of all the ancient nations, was/iiiterwoven 
with their religion. For the sake of illu^trating this 
by example, 1 have inserted a passage from Rollings 
Ancient History, which he has taken from Polybius. 
The passage is found in the Avords of a treaty^ between 
the Carthaginians and the king of Maccdon. and will 
show us the solemn manner in which their treaties 
were formed. "This treaty was concluded in the 
15* 



174 ROME. 

presence of Jupiter, Juno, and Apollo ; in the pres- 
ence of Daimjnos, of the Carthaginians, of Hercules, 
and lolaiis ; in the presence of Murs, Triton, and 
Neptune ; in the presence of ail the confederate gods 
of the Carthaginians, and of the sun, moon and earth ; 
in the presence of the river?, meads and waters; in 
the presence of alllliose gods who possess Carthage.'* 

Tlic government of Carthage, mucii hkc ttiatof the 
Roman repuhlic, consisted of three orders. The 
Suifetrs, of which there were two, answered in most 
particulars to the consuls of Rome. Thev were ap- 
pointed annually, and are called sometimes kings, 
dictators or consuls ; their power was great. The 
Senate consisted of m<"n most remarkable for wisdom 
and prudence, and formed their council of state. 
Their number is not known. The whole body of the 
peo{)le con)posed the lower order. But the people 
£rene;rallv suhm.Ked all matters of ;jovernment to the 
senate. Towards the concjuest of Carthage, how- 
ever, by the Romans, the people grew turbulent, 
factious and rebellious, and bein:: led by aspiring 
demagogues, thry interfered and (ii»ally subverted 
the slate. In general, their government was suf- 
licionlly virtuous to give security to private property, 
and c )nsequ"ntly to pronK>!e industry and enterprise : 
but it was fre(|uent!y cru(d, t> rannical, tumultuary 
and impolitic. When Hannibal was upon the point 
of concpieiing Rome, a faction in the senate of Car- 
thafje ruiiu (! him. But there must be a cause for 
the di?s<)l(itiv 11 (.f all government>«, states and empires. 
Even Rome, after having flourished her day, fell into 
disorder, confusion, weakness aful ruin. 

The Romans were now masters oi ltal\ ; an ex- 
tensive, fertde, and in many parts, a populous coun- 
trv. We have now no means of coming at the pro- 
babl' numbfT of iniiabitants ; but Italv now sus- 
tains twenty millions o( people, I'.ctwithstandincr the 
great degeneracy of morals, and want of industry, 
which prevail in that country. From yarious cir» 



ROM£. 1 Id 

cumstances which attract our notice in the Punic 
"vvar, we may safely conclude, that Italy then con-^ 
lained several millions of people. 

The resources of the two powers w^c are now con- 
sidering, were very different, but very great. Car- 
thage, by extensive and prosperous commerce, had 
amfjssed the wealth of the world. She abounded in 
gold and silver, and in every species of valuable, ele- 
gant and luxurious merchandise. She had also an 
immense [)opulation. The northern shores of Africa 
were theti the granary of the world ; they were lull 
of people ; they were the fruitful nursery of armies ; 
and the number of their vessels was prodigious. But 
the Africans, at this time, were neither inebriated 
by luxury, nor yet enervated by their warm ( limate. 
They had powerful armies ; and it was their good 
fortune to have a number of great generals, w ho w ere 
perhaps never surpassed in some essential points of 
iho military character. They- were cralt\, intrepid, 
brave ; and especially they were impituous and 
almost irresistible in their modes of attack. 

The Romans were as } et poor : they were actuated 
by patriotif^m and love of glory. 'J heir courage was 
cool, but firm and unshaken 5 and was always most 
thoroughly roused b> the greatest danger. They 
were inured to hardships, and were, in one word, a 
nation of soldiers : for, as Cineas told Pyrrhus cwry 
one of their senators was fit for a king, so he might 
also have said, that every one of their soldiers was 
lit for a general. 

Such being the contending parties, it will not be 
thought extravagant, when we observe, that the con- 
test between Rome and Carthage was conducted with 
the firmest spirit, and the greatest resolution ; that it 
was the most equally matched, and vigorously fought; 
in 'hort, that it w:is the most severe, wheiher we re- 
gard the exticmity. extent, or duration of its opr ra- 
tions : and the most illustri«^u«?, whether weregird 
the characters concerned, or the conscqueiices to fol- 



1 76 HOME. 

low, of any found in the nnnals of history i for, in 
this contest, the two greatest powers in the world 
were eni^aged ; and it was certain, that whoever was 
victoiious must ren^ain without a rival. 

The expulsion of Pyrrhus from Italy, and reduction 
of the Samnit'^s and Tarentum, completed the subju- 
gation of Italy, and left the Romans masters of the 
garden of I'^urope. They must now find new tields 
of glory. The prospect northward was uninviting. 
There lay the Alps and the fierce nations of Gaul. 
Eastward lav Greece, separated from them by the 
Adriatic sea, which was possessed by the fleets of 
Carthae;e. Sicily, divided tVom them only by a nar- 
row strait, allured them hy^ its immense riches, and 
was easy of access ; hut there the grasping power of 
Carthage had already unfurled its victorious standard. 

Micro, king of Syracuse, was engaged in a war with 
the Mamertines, a small Sicilian state ; and being 
hardly pre sscd, he called in the Garthaiiinians to his 
aid, who presently furnished him with prompt assist- 
ance by sea and land. The Mamertines, seeing 
them>ielves thus overmatclied, immediately sent to 
the Roman s(Miate, and put themselves under the 
protection of the Romans. The senate, still mindful 
of the interference of the Carthaginians in the siege 
of Tarentum, determined now on a trial of strength, 
and without further ileiaj', declared war against Car- 
thage. I'hus commenced what is commonly called 
the lirst i^unic war. 

It was soon [)ercelved by the Romans, that any ad- 
vantages they might gain in Sicily over their adver- 
saries, could neither be very important, nor perma- 
nent, so long as their adversaries were masters of the 
seas. As cinmerical as it might seem, they deter- 
mined to remove this impediment. Their own im- 
mense peninsula furnished them with numberless 
harbors; their forsts afforded them timber; their 
genius j)romisr(l them skill ; and their hardy sons 
might easily become excellent seamen. About the 



ROME. 1 77 

same time a Cartba^inian vessel fallins: into their 
hands, tlu y took it as their model, and went without 
delay to building a fleet. In a short time, a fleet was 
built and equi[)p<'(i for sea. Of this naval armament 
Duillius took the command ; and immediately putting 
to sea, he encountered and defeated one of the prin- 
c\\y\\ fleets of Carthage, sinking or destroying fifty of 
th< ir ships. y\ victory so l)rillianl and so unexpected, 
anc] achieved by the ir'f.mt navy of Rome, gave nr n- 
kind new ideas of the capacity and g'niusof the Ho- 
man people. But we cannot f^escend to a mip'te 
detail of particular events. ""Jlie Komar.>, In', iig 
gained several advantages both by sea and land, de- 
termined without delav to tarry ll e war into Af'ica, 
in hopes of lerminatinir i< by onr c<«*(i-.ive etfoit. 

'J'hey soon fitted out a fleet mor(> powevfi 1 thcT- the 
former, and piepared to makf* a drscrnt upon t^e 
coast of Africa. 'J his ain»y was commanded by Re- 
gulus. at that time c(>p>i<i( icd the greatest cencjal in 
Rome; a man en.iiirni for ii»tcgrity. bravery, ami nil 
the virtues of th^ patriot and Itero. Rrjrulus was no 
sooner at sea. than he was ni« t b> the fl'.ef? of Car- 
thage. A hntlle ensued, in whi( h the Romans < ame 
oil" with Complete virtory and tiiumph. "^1 h( y land- 
ed, and enco\m(erinii an arm> comf)Osed of the flower 
of Carthage, onc<- more ohinined a signal victory. 
In consequence of which, many towns and cities sub- 
mitted to the Roman army. Such a series of severe 
defeats and heavy losses tilled Carthage with grief, 
terror, and astonishment ; and it was apprehended 
that the Romans would immediately complete the 
c* nqnesl of Africa. 

But it should 1)C remembered, that the histories of 
the>e transactions werf t^enerally written by Ronian 
pens. Allowance must, tlu refore, be made for such 
glosses and colorings, as might be expected from a 
j)eople, unwilling to a( knowledge the niilitary merit 
of other nations, 'i'he Carthaginians, in this extiem- 
ity, sent to Lacedcraon, and requested Xantippus, » 



1 78 ROME. 

celebrated Grecian general, to command their armies. 
Their request was granted ; and the almost desperate 
nflairs of Carthnge assumed a new form. 

This brave and gallant commander soon appeared 
at the head of an army ; gave battle to the Romans ; 
defeated them with dreadful slaughter, and Regulus, 
the Roman general, was taken prisoner. It is re- 
marked b) some, that events either fortunate or dis- 
astrous, seldom come alone. This remark holds good , 
in the present case ; and fortune seemed now willing, 
for a while, to sliift sides. The Roman senate, almost 
at once, received intelligence of the loss of Regulus 
and his army, of the total loss of their fleet in a storm 
at sea, and of the capture of Agrigentuni, their chief 
town in Sicily, by Kasthalo, the Carthaginian gene- 
ral. Having put another tlcet to sea, it was also 
driven ashore and wiccked in a slorm. 

It may be presumed, that the fleets of those times 
were but poorly built and equipped to resist the dan- 
gers of the sea; and if to this idea we add that of 
their ignorance of the art of navigation, it is matter 
of wonder, how they accomplislu^d what they ccr- 
tainly did on the sea. To perform long voyages 
without a compa-s, must be attended with continual 
perplexity and danger. The Romans discovered this 
to their cost : and l']utropius remarks, that they were 
so disgusted and chagrined with thef.e disasters at sea, 
that they in a measure abandoned forever all naval 
enterprises. But their prosperity on the land wag 
ultimately more than a counterbalance. They al- 
ways, however, had ships enough to transport their 
armies wherever they wished to send them ; and 
they did in fact after this, gain several victories over 
the Carthaginians at s^n. 

Regulus, in the mean time, was thrown into a dun- 
geon, where he lay some years, while the war pro- 
gressed with vigor, but with no material advanta^re on 
either side. At length, however, as the bravery of 
the Romans was fatigued, and the treasures of Car- ^ 



HOME. 1 79 

thage no less exhausted, tlie Carthaginians thought it 
a i"av()ral)lc time (o propose conditions of pc ai c. To- 
gether \vith their own ambassadors, they also sent 
Resiulus home upon parole of honor, exacting fiom 
him a promise, that he would return, provided the 
Romans did not accept of their conditions. The con- 
duct of Regulus, on this occasion, has been justly cel- 
ebiated throuirh all succeedini: ages. Although he 
knew, that the severest torments awaited his return 
to Carthage, yci^ as the guardian of the honor of his 
country, he sulVered no private consideration to in- 
fluence his con.hict. He strenuously opposed a 
peace, but upon terms as humbling to Coril.age, as 
they were advantajjeous and honorable to Home- 

The great and noble spirit, he manifested, revived 
the courage of his counii'vmcn, and determined them 
to prosecute the war. But as for himself he return- 
ed to Carthage, and was put to dealh with the most 
dreadful and liuL'ering torments. This he foresaw, 
and laid down his lile volunlarily for the good of his 
country. Patriots, like Regulus, are as scarce, as 
those arc plenty, who. in the niidst of the mo!?t pom- 
pous professions, would bcll or sacrifice their country, 
to advance their own private interest. 

After the death of Regulus, the affairs of Carthnge 
experienced an eviderit and rapid decline ; and the 
Roman arms prevailed in all directions, till the Car- 
thaginians found it necessary to make peace on the 
most dishonorable terms. These were, tliat they 
should evacuate Sicily and the neighboring islands; 
give up all tijeir prisoners and deserters \>ith(nit ran- 
som ; keep all their ships of war at a distance from 
the Roman dominions ; never make war with the 
Roman allies; p3> down a thou--arid t dents of silver, 
and two tliousand an<l two hundred moro, in ten 
years. To these conditions Carthage acceded ; and 
thus ended the first Punic war, in the year 513 from 
the Iniildin": of the citv. 

The Romans themselves were willing at this time 
to take breath ; for though, in this war, they bad 



180 ROME. 

gOfierally the advanlago, yet it was an advantage 
dvM.rly bou^lit ; aiiJ tliey olten perceived the balance 
to -hict'iate ; sometimes to tmn against tlierii. In- 
dc»- 1 tiieir scene ot' onerations was wide : their ex- 
ertiDHS e\lrcmo an i lon^ contirmed, in combatting a 
great and paweiful people, wlu), though less warlike, 
certainly possessed superior resources. At this pe- 
riod, vvhile K(jm;' enjoyed prolound peace, and the 
temple of .'anus was >hut. several events tot)k place 
strongly connected with the chain of causes, which 
was to elevate iier to the summit of empire and i;iory. 
A passion for elegant literature, lor the tirst time, be- 
gan now to appear ; particularly the Grecian drama 
hei^an to take place of the low, wretched and smutty 
satire, as it was called, which hitherto bad onlv been 
known at Rome ; and, from this period, the strong 
genius of K^me labored perpetually upon Grecian 
models. They never could ecjnal their masters in 
dramatic composition ; but, in manv other species of 
writing, they not onl) eijualled, but excelled, and even 
merited the honor of inventing several of their own. 

Between the tirst and second l^mnc wars, the tem- 
ple of Janus did not continue loni; shut. The tierce 
and barbarous nations <d Cjaul. judging it now a con- 
venient time, when the Roman armies were disband- 
ed, and the spirit of war seemed quiet, once more to 
make an attempt upon Italy, the) crossed the Alps, 
and poured down in an immense swarm into the fruit- 
ful country of Etruria. But thcj learned their error, 
when too late. They were surrounded and cut in 
pieces almost to a man. Viridomarus, their king, 
was slain by the hand of the celebrated iMarcellus, 
who was called the szcordo( Rome. They, as might 
be ex|)ected, begged and obtained a p( ace. 

The Carliiaginians, who had !iecn compelled by i.c- 
cessity to accept the most inglorious terms of peace, 
were now measurably recovered from the calamities 
of an unf>rtMr^ate war, and determined once more on 
a trial of strength with the great and formidable pow- 



ROMt. 181 

• 

«r of Rome. They were, indeed, excited and roused 
to this measure by one of the must extraordinary men, 
who has ever appeared in the world. Hannibal, on 
whom the command of the second Punic war devolv- 
ed, had been, from his childhood, a sworn enemy to 
the Romans. It is said, that when he was but nine 
years old, his father, llamilcar, who was himself a 
great and skilful i^enoral, caused him to lake a solemn 
oath, never to be in friendship with the Romans. 

The Carthaginians beL^an the war by besieging 
Saguntum, a city in Spain, in alliance with the Ro- 
mans. An embassy was immediately despatolicd to 
Carthage, complaining of this infraction of an ex- 
isting treaty. This remonstrance failing of success, 
both sides once more prepared for war, in a manner 
suited to the irrcatness ot the contcndini: parties. 

lianriibal, who was then in Spain, sent a part of 
his forces into Africa, left ai»other part under the 
commauil of Asdrubal, his brother, to carry on the 
war in Spain, and at the head of about 50,000 select 
troops, and a formidable body of cavaliy, as stated by 
Cornelius Ncj)os, he directed his march toward Italy. 
Out of Spain, he passed over the PyreiKMU moun- 
tains into Cjaul, where he encountered and dispersed 
the barbarous and hostile tribes, who made head 
against him. He crossed the Alps with his army, an 
enterprise, considoriuii that it was perfcrmed in the 
dead of winter, truly stupendous and astonishing. 
Since the heroic achievements of flcrcules, no army 
had ever crossed those lofty ridges, wliere vast de- 
clivities, frightful steeps, and dreary wastes, received 
in succession, the adventurous traveller ; where na- 
ture ^s roughest aspixt derived additional horrors from 
the ravages of winter ; and the frequent and desper- 
ate attacks of fierce savages, issuing; from the caverns 
and grottos of these inhospitable rocks, increased 
the dangers of every step. 

This arduiuis enterprise was arromplislied in about 
'wo weeks, but with the loss of nearly half the aniiy. 
16 



182 ROME. 

But nothing could rcprnss (he ardor of Hannibal. 
He was now on the plains of Italy; he must conquer 
or die. 

1'he Romans, who carefully watrhcd Hannibal's 
motions, received intelligence by the swiftest cou- 
riers, that he was crossing the Alps at the head of a 
powerful army. So bold an enterprise, Hkcly to be 
attended with important conse(pH'nres, excited con- 
siderable sensations at Rome. IjuI whnt coidd the 
Romans fear? The bravest nation in the world, skill- 
ed in the art of war by the experience of ages; they 
had triumphed over every enemy : even Pynlius, 
the greatest genei-al of his time, could not stand be- 
fore them. And in a former war, they had, at the 
gates of Carthage, prescribed to her, conditions of 
peace. But now they weie far more powerful, by 
increase of numbers, wealth, and exp<'rience. 

But we cannot particularize the events of this war. 
Hannibal first defeated Scipio, who met him near the 
river Po, with a nutnerous army, soon after he had 
entered Italy. A few da} s after this, he encountered 
another army, commanded by "Sempronius, on the 
banks of the 'iVcbia. 'i'his army he routed with c:reat 
slaughter. The third army, communded by Flaniin- 
ius, he cut off near the lake of 'J'iirasymene. 'ihc 
news of these successive defeats, spread consterna- 
tion and dismay through Italy ; atul many of the 
Cisalpine (Sauls inmiediately declared for IL^nnibal, 
and Hocked to his standard. And the Sicilians, who 
found that masters near at hand were more tc» be 
feared than at a distance, now generally shewed a 
disposition to join the conqueror. 

In this alarming state of things, the mighty geniu'r 
of Rome, which never tailed to open to her n<'W 
resources, suggested a means of checking the rapid 
progrt;ss of Hannibal. Fabius Maximuswas appoint- 
ed dictator ; a man of great subtiify and craft, as 
wvU as an able and cx[)erienced c» mmander. To 
him was committed, as to the last resort, the defence 



ROME. 183 

of the republic ; and he undertook that arduous task, 
by a mode of warfare hitherto unknown to the Ro- 
mans, but since their time often practised with suc- 
cess ; and by no one more ilhistriously than by him 
who may be styled the 5/1/cWof the American people. 
The Romans could bringno force into the field, which 
could stand before Hannibal. Fabius, therefore, en- 
deavored to keep out of his way, but to watch his 
motions 5 to hover about liim; cut olF his foraging 
parties; to disturb and weaken him by indn'cct 
means; to harass at one time his van and at another 
his rear; and especially to let no opportunity blip 
of annoying him, or, as it might iiappen, of gaininj; a 
signal advantage. And in pursuing this system, he 
in fact trained several considerable advantages, and 
at lenglli inclosed him in a place, from whence he 
could not extricate himself without dilliculty and 
danger. 

But no inclosures were sufhoient lon::^ to detain 
him, whoQi no t'orce could with^t;tnd, when at liber- 
ty. By a strataijem, be outwitted even Fabius, and 
gained once more the open country. And now the 
calamities of Rome seemed drawing toward thcii 
crisis. Tlie conmiand of Fabius exj)iring, Terentiu;« 
Varro, a man of rash, impetuous courage, was appoint- 
ed in his place, who advanced against Hannibal with 
90.000 men, tlie /lower and strength of Italy. Supe- 
riority of numbers, lienor, hhnme, courage, the an- 
cient tortune and glory of Rome — in short, resent- 
ment, rage, and despair, all seem»^d to unite their in- 
fluence upon the minds of the Romans, and to lead 
them on to victory and vengeance. 'J'hey fought, 
and were cut in pieces almost to a man. Fifty, some 
say se\enty, thousand were left dead on the tield of 
battle ; and it is said, that three bushels of gold riiigs 
were sent to Carthage, which were drawn from the 
Imijprs of Roman knights. 

Hannibal has been generally, perhaps justly, cen- 
sured for not immediately investing Rome. Indeed 



184 ROME. 

some historians relate, that Maherba], one of his 
principal officers, told him at the time, '^ that he knew 
how to con<juer, but not how to improve his victory; 
and that if he would march immediatrij to Rome, 
in tiiiee days they should sup in the capital." It ap* 
pears that Hannibal had attliis time but about 40,000 
foot forces, and n<»l half that nuniher of cavalry. If 
this be true, it would seem a suthcient reason for his 
delaying the siege of Rome. Although many Ro- 
mans had been killed in the war, yet there were vast 
numbers remaining; and of their courac^e, lie had no 
reason to doubt. Had Caithage at this moment in- 
vaded Italy Avith several other armies; had she fur- 
iiish.ed Hannibal with three times the number of men 
he liad, which she might ha\e done, Rome might 
have been concjuered. But while Hannibal was 
victorious in Italy, ilu^ government of Carthage was 
embarrassed, distracted, and lent by factions. 

Immrfl lately after the battle of Canna^,, Hannibal 
despatched his brother Mago, to Caithage, to carry 
an account of his decisive victory, and to demand 
more troops, in order to complete the reduction of 
Rome. But alas! what can eijual the blindness and 
jage of popular fury? Hanno, a powerful dema- 
gogue in the senate of Carthage, ever bent on frus- 
'tratijig the measures of Hannibal, prevailed against 
the request of Mago. And although an order was 
given for the raising of 2-1,000 foot and 4,000 horse, 
vet when those forces were levied in S])ain, they 
were sent another way, and never acted in that di- 
re(-tion, where their aid would probably have enabled 
Hannibal to finish the war. Nor is this the only 
instance, where ambitious men have sacrificed their 
country, and even themselves to their own party 
views. 

Instead of admiring, that Hannibal did not imme- 
diately conquer Rome, nothing, indeed, can be more 
astoniL^hing, than that he was able, with an army re- 
duced to about 24,000, to maintain his ground lor 
many years. 



ROME. 185 

Hannibal, however, carried on the war, and kept 
possession of the finest parts of Italy, for upwards of 
fifteen years. But the country was large, and the 
Romans, taught by adversity and being fully recov- 
ered from their first consternation, found means to 
evade his impetuous valor, and make effectual oppo- 
sition, witliout hazarding general battles. Rome 
owed its ultimate deliverance to several great men. 
Fabius, Marcellus, and Scipio, afterwards surnamed 
Africanus, led the Roman armies, and managed their 
affairs with equal courage and prudence. Though 
they could not drive Hannibal out of Italy, they led 
armies into Spain and Sicily, and finally into Africa, 
where the war became so threatening, that the Car- 
thaginians were obliged to recall Hannibal to defend 
their own dominions. Hannibal returned, but too 
late. The Carthaginians were too far gone to be 
rescued by. mortal prowess. 

Historians have generally allowed, that Alexander 
was the first of warriors. But if they allow the Ro- 
mans to have been the most warlike of the ancient 
nations, it will be dillicult to say, why Alexander 
should take precedency of Hannibal. What com- 
parison could the Persians bear with the Romans ? 
Hannibal, it is true, did not conquer Italy; but what 
did he do? He defeated, and nearly destroyed, five 
principal armies in succession. His own army was 
not large, nor was it recruited. The Gauls, and 
other people in Italy, who espoused his cause, were 
not to be depended on ; and o( his own regular force, 
there must have been a constant diminution. Many 
of the bravest Roman generals, he slew ; their most 
wise and crafty he outwitted ; and their greatest and 
most consummate, he outgeneralled. In the field, he 
was more than a match for Marcellus, and in policy, 
for Fabius. Even Scipio Africanus did not conquer 
him, till he was overpowered nnd crushed by fortune. 

No one can deny, that in the times of the Punic 
wars, the Romans were far better soldiers than the 
16* 



180 ROME. 

Carthagir.ians ; but that they ever had an abler 
general, there is reason to doubt. 

On llaiinibai's leaving Italy, he found the allairs of 
his lonntrv in a siuiation nearly de!;f)eratc. He had 
Avitli him the remnant ul those soldiers with whom he 
liad fought fifteen years in Italy ; but they were cov- 
ered with scars ; worn out with toils ; and their spirits 
broken witii labor, mi?fortune, and disappointment; 
ne\ertheles3, he encountered Scipio the younger, 
whose army was far superior to his own, and did 
every thing which piMuience and valor could do. Ife 
was overpowered and obliged to seek salety by Hight. 

This was the end of the second Funic war. The 
Carthaginians were now willing to make peace upon 
any terms ; and the J{oman> dictated such terms as 
tiny saw lit. l>ut that uidiappy people did not long 
enjoy the benefit even of a treaty, uluch, while it 
left them the name, deprived them, in reality, of in- 
d( j)cn(h nee. 'i'he Momans renewed their exactions 
Asiih tlie luiuj^htiest tone of desjiotic insolence. Sub- 
mission was now in vain ; the miserable inhabitants 
of Carthage were ordered to leave their cily, which 
was, by a decree of the senate; of Rome, condemned 
to be utterly demolished. Cartbaire, roused by de- 
spair, although by the most base and shameful treach- 
ery completely disarmed, now made her expiring ef- 
fort. The people shut their gates, fortifitd their 
sNalls ami towers, and with incredible industry, fabri- 

ited such aims as the time allowed. They made a 
noble resistance. But the re[)eated and furious as* 
>au!ts of a great and povveiful army, could not long be 
resisted. The city was taken by storm, and together 
with its inhabitants perished by fire and sword., 

'I'lius ended Carthage, one of the most renowned 
• ities of anliijuity, 1 16 vears before Christ, 621 from 
the building of Rome, and above a thousand }ear8 
from its foundation. 

But Hannibal, destined never to grace a Roman 
triumph, long survived the ruin of Carthage, fetill 



ROME. 187 

retainii)g his enmity to the Romans, he maintained 
in every place the unequal strutrgle, endeavoring, by 
any means, to annoy them or to enkindle war against 
ihcm. 



CHAPTER XVL 

BRIEF HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE ROM.AN rWPIRE, FRO^f 
THE FALL OF CARTHAGE TO THE KE!ON OF COMMOPUS, 
CGNTAl.NMNG A lERlOD OF THREE HUNDRED AND TWELVE 
YEARS. 

IN the infancy of Rome, she had many wars, but 
few confjucsts ; in her maturity, she iiad few wars and 
many conquests. W hen th(i power of conquest failed, 
Rjjme no lonirer had a rival. Her wars, or rather 
invasions, after that event, were generally of her cwn 
seeking ; and they were many. Rome was no soon- 
er able to say, " Carthage must be destroyed,''* than, 
in her heart, slie also said, The empire of Jllcxniuler 
shall be iniitc, Fir>t Macedon felt her masp, and Per- 
seus was hurled from the throne of Philip and Alex- 
ander ; at which time she giaciously gave the Greeks 
their liberty, i. e. gave them law. 

AllahL-. king of Pcrgamus, dying about this time, 
left Ids kingdom to the Romans, by will ; or, in other 
word.';, seeing the world si'dv beneath their power, lie 
preferred giving them a bloodless vi<tory,and cloak- 
ed an ij^noble dereliction of right under the specious 
name of a voluntary donation. Antiochus the CJreat, 
king of Assyria, was destined next to (aW before them. 
He was at this period, tiie most powerful and ojjulent 
, prince of all Alexander's successors; and had he ac- 
I cepted the advice and aid of Hannibal, there would 
* have h< en at It ast a chanre for his esca[)ing the all- 
grasping power of Rome. ]h\t he. fearing lest- if nr*. 

*■ -' JAknda e;t Carthago.'" 



158 ROME. 

tlunp: slioiild he done, Hannibal would have all the 
credit, was caiffnl to no di recti) contrary to the ad- 
vice of that ^enerah The Romans defeated him al- 
most without loss of blood; stripped him of great 
part of his dominions ; triumphed over him ; extort- 
ed from him an imnjcnse tribute ; and left him only 
enough to ^race the triumph of another campaign. 

Tw o other great cities shared the fate of Carthage, 
and near!) at the same time. Corinth, one of the 
noMes't cities of Greece,* was utterl} destroyed by 
Mumnnus, the consul, for otlcring some indignity to 
the iloman ambassadors ; and Numantia, the capital 
of Spain. This city, after sustaining a si«^ge of four- 
tern years, was rediiced by Scipio. The inhabitants, 
being unable to hold out any longer, tired the city 
over their own heads, and all perished in the flames; 
and Spain became a Ri)man province. 

'I'lu^ corruption of the senate, and the sedition and 
fall of the (ira((hi, together with various distur- 
bances, next arise to view in tracing the history of 
Rome. Then follow the reduction of Numidia, and 
the civil wars in the republic, excited by the ambi- 
tion of Mariiis and Sylla, which terminated in the 
perpetual dictatorship of the latter. But it will not 
comport w ith our present design to enter into a detail 
of these particular events. 

Rome was perhaps never more powerful or happy, 
than in the days of Scipio Africanus, or about the 
times of the Tunic wars. She tlien experienced 
great misfortunes and calamities ; but those untoward 
events, ii»stcad of weakening or exhausting her, call- 
ed forth, nay, even created, new energies. From the 
invasion of Ilannibal, she rose invincible ; and while 
that consummate warrior held his ground in Italy, 
slie sent armies into Spain, Africa. Greece gnd l\lace- 
don. A great part of those immense regions, which 
Alexander subdued, soon -harrd the fate of the em- 
pire of Carthage ; and in those days, with the Ro- 

♦ *•' Lumtn toti«s Greciae," ait Cicero. 



ROME. 189 

mari!*, to proclaim war was to insure a triumph ; and 
to invade, was to conquer. 

\\'hen we look for a period in the Roman history, 
in wliich there is the greatest union of power, wisdom, 
virtue, and happiness, it will doubtless be found not 
far from the times, of which we are now speaking. 
The Romans, in earlier times of the republic, were 
more virtuous arid patriotic than now ; but then they 
were weak. In the Augustan age they were certain- 
ly more enlightened, scientific and polished ; but then 
they were less brave j or if not less brave, their vir- 
tue was forever gone, and with it, the foundation of 
their prosperity and happiness. 

Tlie conquest of Africa, Asia, and Greece, at once 
poured into the colFers of Rome immense, incalcula- 
ble riches. On tiiis almost boundless tide of pros- 
perity, a set of mr n were soon seen floating, of a 
verv dilfer* [it character from Cincinnatus, Fabricius, 
ai^d RegiiKis. 'i\> the most desperate bravery, they 
united unbounded ambition ; and to the strongest 
expre^ion of regard to their courtry, they united a 
total want of piincipU'. The weahh of the world, 
like a mighty river, poureil into Rome ; and many 
individuals acquired fortunes, whicli transcended 
roviil nia^niiu ence. 

'J'he elev;jtion of Rome to such an astonishing 
height of power and splendor, drew to her, men of 
parts, of taste, of ambition and enterprise, and in 
short, men of every description, and almost every 
nation. The descendants of the ancient l^omans, 
soon became few in comparison with the immense 
multitude, who by some means or other, acquired cit- 
izeM«<lnp, or obtained a residence in Italy; and Rome 
hersell experienced as great a change, as the nations 
tslu* conquered. While she drew arts, elegance, and 
^ scieijce from Greece, she drew wealth, hiXJiry, elT'em- 
inacy, and corruption from Asia and Afrira, and she 
drew a swarm of hungry torlunehnnters from every 
corner of the earth, who penetrated her inmost re- 



190 ROME. 

cecscs ; outnumbered and overwhelmed lier ancient 
people ; in short, conquered their conrjuerors, cor- 
rupted their morals, and put a t'lnal period to their 
liberties. 

The civil wars of Rome, which soon followed the 
period of which we have been spcakinj]:, unfold to the 
render a spectacle equally dreadful and disgusting. 
Many persons, who had witnessed the destruction of 
Cajthacje, were still alive, and saw all Italy deluged 
in blood by Marius and Sylla. From the destruc- 
tion of Carthage to the perpetual dictaloij»liip of Syl- 
la, was a little rising of seventy years. During the 
latter part of this pciiod, Lucius Sylla, , envying the 
power and glory of Caius ISIarius, involved the re- 
public in a most bloody, dis^iaccful, and destructive 
war. After various turns which their atVairs took in 
the progress of this eventful struggle ; aftrr they 
had destroyed half a million of men, including the 
best pait of the Roman people ; h id humhU'd Rome 
and Italy ; had shed the noblest blood, and prostrat- 
ed the dignity of the republic, Sylla, an execrable 
monster of cruelty, tyranny, and ambition, was able 
to triumph over virtue, liberty, and justice. He 
seatcul himself quietly in the exercise of despotic 
power, and became perpetual dictator. Rome never 
saw another moment of freedom. 

The Romans, in the times of Stipio, may^ br com- 
pared with the Creeks in the time of 'i'hemistocles ; 
and the triumph of Greece over Tersia, with that of 
Rome over Carthage. In both rases, the conquerors 
w(Me corrupted by wealth, and inebriated by luxury. 
We might go further and say, that the Peloponnesian 
war, whieh sueceeded the elevation of Greece, and 
lai'i the four;.' jtion of hrr ruin, icscmbled the civil 
wars of Rqiti'*. 'x ijun by A?:n*ius :iiid Sylla, carried 
on by Ces^ and !\)mpe\, and terminated by Augus- 
tus. But nie tirmnuss of the Roman character, thf 
nature of tbeir (•i\jr policy, and the immense extent 
of their conqucbts, euabled them still to be powerful. 



ROME. 191 

in spite o( all their corruptions ; and had they been 
otherwise, there seemed to be no nation near them, 
who could have derived advantage from their weak- 
ness. They seem to have been raised up and endow- 
ed with universal dominion, that tlicy might evidence 
to the world, how far a nation can be happy, and 
bow long she can exist, without virtue or freedom. 

The ambition of the demagogues, as weli as of the 
despots and tyrants of Rome, in one essential article, 
led them to promote the (rue and just policy of the 
empire : that w as to atiac h the pr< vinces as strongly 
as possible to the interest of Home ; to dissolve them 
down to one common mass — to preserve their exten- 
sive territories entire; to cement thrni together bj 
various alliances ; and to preserve the empire undi- 
vided. Tlie strength of eiiJpiics consists in their 
union. The Greeks, wanting this, soon f:iiled ; and, 
in our own times, Poland, which ought, from her 
numerous advantages, to have been one o( the ni(*st 
powerful kingdoms in the world, has exhibited a de- 
plorable spectacle of weakness and miser}, by means 
of iier internal divisions. Ourown country had well 
nigh been swallowed in the same crnlf, 

'J'he Roman coinnumity, launched at once on Fuch 
a sea of luxury, wealth, and gh^ry.. wafgMKOusly af- 
fected. While all were strugi^^ling fov emiTuMKe and 
power, it fortunately happened, that the leins of gov- 
ernment fell into strong and energetic hands. Of 
this description, generally speaking, were niO>t of the 
first cour|)»titi>rs, and of the triun virates. The soft- 
ening power of luxury, the sudden inundation of 
Grecian elegance and refmemeiit, and the ehnation 
of conscious greatness and empire, combined with 
her native gravity in forming the genius cf Ronjc. 
About this period, it bei^an to bud ; so(^J|^'ler this, 
was its fairest bloom and richest matucity. !f tl^c 
genius of Rome was of a heavier n»ou!d fnan that k)( 
Circece, it i)(>«sessed a more commanding; gi'a% i'y ; 
if it had le:,s lire, it was more tranquil, maje*«tic, and 



192 ROME. 

solemn; and more hearts will vibrate with plcaFuro 
to the plaintive and elei^ant notes of the Roman, than 
to the electric fulminaiions of the Grecian muse. 

In the year 680 from the building of the city, the 
republic was freed from the tyranny of Sylla, by (he 
death of that odious tyrant. But two men, of far 
more extensive views and refined ambition than either 
Marius or Sylla, were already prepared to run the 
same race. By various arts, as well as by great 
abilities, Cneus Pompey had become the most popular 
man in Rome, and was considered as the greatest 
commander in the republic, Crassus possessed that 
authority and iiilluence which great eloquence and 
immense wealth, combining with all the wiles of am- 
bition, could procure. He was the richest man in 
Rome. 

AVhilc Pompey, who warmly espoused the Marian 
faction, strove to gain the favor of the people by 
abrogating n^any of the tyranniral laws of S\lla, 
Crassus employed his amazing wealth in donations, 
distributions of corn among the poor, in public feasts 
and entertainments; and it is said, that he supported, 
at his ovvn private expense, the greatest part of the 
citizens for several months ; expenditures sufliicient to 
have exh^stcd the treasures of the greatest princes. 
In the proi^ress of their contest for power, their ani- 
mo>itics broke forth on every occasion, in opposition 
more or less direct, and by means more or less violent. 

At this period, while the destinies of Rome seem- 
ed to hanix in doubtful suspense, three characters ap- 
peared of very dilFerent complexions, but equally ex- 
traordinary, e(piallvlobc remembered, but with very 
dilferent sensations, in posterity; Catiline, Cicer- 
and (^esar. One of these nien pioeured for himseii 
immortuHfimc by his atroeious villany ; one, bv 
his unrrvalh 1 eloquence ; and one, by his amljilid 
bravery, I'^d good fortune. ^ 

Julius Cesar mav be regarded as (he greatest o( 
the Roman commanders. In him the military geniu^ 



HOME. 1 93 

oC Rome displayed its utmost strength aiul perfec- 
tion ; but, as yet, he was not known in that «;roup of 
great characters and personages, who, now inflamed 
with^mbition, were preparing to carve and divide 
the world among them. Lucius Catiline is allowed 
by all writers to have possessed every quality of 
a c:reat man but intcijritv and virtue: instead of 
which, he held every principle, and practised every 
vice, which could form a most infamous, atrocious 
and abandoned villain. Possessed of a body and 
mind equally strong and vigorous, he was bold, cn- 
lerprisirjg, and i[iduslrious. lie hesitated at no cru- 
elly to gratify his re\ cnge ; he abstained from no 
crime which could sn!)S('rve his pleasures; he valued 
no labor or peril to gratify his ambition. Catiline 
perceiving himself not among the most favored ri- 
vals who were courting the mistress of the world, 
determined on getting her into his possession by 
violence, llis end was the same as theirs ; but his 
means were more unwarrantable. lie planned and 
organized one of the deepest, most extensive and 
daring con«;piracies recorded in history. Tlie leading 
objet ts of his conspiracy were, to put out of the way 
by <»nc general massacre, all who would be likely to 
oppose his measures; to pillage the <ity of Rome; to 
seize all public treasures, arsenals and stores ; to es- 
tablish a despotic government ; to revolutionize the 
whole republic ; and to accomplish all these mea- 
sures bv an armed force. 

This sanguinary plot was detected and crushed by 
Cicero, the great and justly celebrated orator of 
Rome. The acc«mplices of Catiline were seized 
and put to death; and Catiline himself, who had as- 
sembled an army of twelve thousand men, was en- 
countered, defeated and slain. ^ 

Rut if Rome escaped thii> threateinii^^ilf. it was, 

that she might fall into a snare, apparently less 

dreadful, but equally strong and conclusive as to her 

fate. Her days of virtue and glory were past ; hcncc- 

17 



^ 



194 ROME. 

forth, she was to be ruled with a rod of iron. The 
dissentions of Pompey and Crassus were quieted by 
the mediation of Cesar, who stepped in between 
them, outwitted them both, and became the bead of 
the first triumvirate. Having amicably agreed to 
govern in copartnership, Pompey chose Spain ; Cras- 
sus chose the rich and luxurious province of Asia; 
and to Cesar was allotted the powerful and warlike 
nations of Gaul, as yet unconquered. What was llie 
result ? Pompey basked for a moment in the splen- 
dors of Rome; and liis fame was trumpeted by the 
eloquence of Cicero. Crassus was slain by the Par- 
thians, endeavoring to enlarge his territories, and 
Cesar conquered tbe Gauls in a thousand battles, 
Pompey could not bear an equal, nor Cesar a supe- 
rior. They were mutually jealous ; they differed; 
they prepared for war. 

The senate and nobility of Rome^ and pride and 
strength of Italy sided with Pompey. Cesar relied 
wholly" on those veteran legions, with whom he had 
subdued the fierce and martial tribes of Gaul and 
Germany. No other civil war ever equalled this. It 
■was a melancholy sight to see Rome given up to 
tyrannv and blood — to see that august and venerable 
republic forever abandoned to her evil genius. These 
were not the feeble bickerings of petty controversy. 
Marius and Sylla, the leaders of tbe former civil 
broils, bore little comparison with Cesar at the head 
of his legions, or with the great Pompey, who could 
almost raise armies out of the earth by the stamp of 
his foot. 

This eventful strusfgle was at length closed by the 
battle of I'harsalia, rendered truly famous by the 
grand obiect for which they fouirht, the greatness of 
the forcrtmployed on either side, and by the trans- 
cendent reputation of both commanders. The Ro- 
man empire was the prize ; and both the armies and 
the generals were the best the world could afford. 
Pompoy vvaf titterly defeated ; and many of his army, 



ROME. 195^ 

won over by the magnanimous clemency and gen- 
erosity of Cesar, were content to change sides. 
The conduct of Pompey in this battle, which was to 
decide his fatr, has ever been considered as strange 
and unaccountable. So far was he from displaying 
that couragp, intrepidity, and fortitude, and those 
powers of command, which he was supposed to pos- 
sess, that, from the very first onset, he appeared like 
a Dian frightened out of his senses; he scarcely at- 
tempted to rally iiis men, was among the foremost 
that fled, And n« ver made another eflfort to retrieve 
his i^ause.] Fr^m facts so glaring, we are almost in- 
duced (o 1 elieve, that much of Pompey's greatness, 
as a s-)!di' r and conunander, consisted in the ele- 
gant diMwiufi^s of Cicero, and other partial writers. 
The true test of bravery, skill and fortitude, is to see 
them rlisplayed where they are n>ost necessary — to 
see tHem shine in danger, surmount difFicully, and 
triuiii|ih over adversity. 

Yet no one can doubt that Pompey was a man of 
great and splendid talents. But who could equal 
Cesar? a m.tn ^uprreminent in the whole extensive 
range of intellectual endowments. Nature seemed to 
scant him in nothing. Among philosophers, math- 
ematicians, poets and orators, he could shine. He 
cotdd plan and execute; he could negotiate or fight; 
he could gain and improve an advantage, For seven 
years in his Gallic wars, his life was a continual series 
of fatigues and dear bought victories ; and no general, 
but one as great as Cesar, could have encountered 
him without apprehension and dismay. 

The battle of Pharsalia was fought 52 j^ears before 
Christ, and 702 from the building of the city. Pom- 
pey fled an unhappy exile into Egypt and was 
there miserably murdei'cd by the command of Ptol- 
emy. Thus the reins of government fell mto the 
hands of Cesar, and he was left undisputed master 
of the world. The clemency of Cesar on this oc- 
casion, was as jllustriows, as his victories had beeii, 



1 9G ROME. 

He entered into no measures against many person?, 
^v•ho, under professions of neutrality, had evidently 
sided with Pompey. He did nothins:, which bore 
any resemblance to the horrid ])rosrriptions of Marius 
and Sylla. He endeavored, in most instances, to 
for<^et and forgive, 

IBut the reign and triumph of Julius Cesar was 
shoF't. lie soon fell a sacrilice to that spirit of free- 
dom and independence, which had raised liis country 
to her exalted riink; for though the demons of dis- 
cord, and)ilion, and party rage, had now for a long 
period, aimed all their shafts at good and virtuous 
men; though torrents of the richest blood had Uowcd 
incessantly for n^any years; yet some men were 
still left, whose constancy and virtue ever stemmed 
the strong current of the times. Cato and Cicero 
were still alive, whose stern virtues and comaianding 
eloquence continued to remind the Romans of their 
better days. 

From the battle of Pharsalia to the death of Cesar, 
was eight 3'ears. During this peiiod, he went on and 
prospered. By a rapid series of journeys and ex- 
peditions, he saw, awed and suJijugated all places 
and all opposition. His arm pervaded, his vigilance 
delected, his spirit animated, his generosity won, and 
his power crushed in all directions. His great and 
active genius seemed miiversally to bear down all 
before him ; but in reality not all. At length a plot 
v'as laid, as it were in his own bosom, which hurled 
him in a moment from the high summit, whither ho 
had climbed. ""^ 

Brutus and Cassius, at tlic head of about sixl\ 
senators, entered into a conspiracy to take himoflfby 
assassination. Their object was to arrest the pro 
gress of despotic power, to restore the authority o; 
the senate, and the ancient forms of the republic ; an 
object laudable in itself, but, alas, how far from beim. 
practicable ! Their plot was deeply laid, but seem- 
to have been carried into effect not wichoiit a won- 



HOME. 197 

tiei ful concurrence of accident, or rather of provi- 
dence. While Cesar was on his way to the senate- 
house, where he was to perish, a slave, it is said, who 
had discovered the conspiracy, pressed forward in 
the crowd to apprise him of his danger, but could not 
get to him for the press. Another person* put into 
his hands a paper, which would liave saved him, 
containing an account of^ie conspiracy. This he 
handed to his secretary without breaking the seal. 
After he was sealed in the senate-house, the conspi- 
rators approached and despatched him with their 
dac^gers without resistance, and retired to the capitol, 
where they put themselves in a state of defence. 

Thus fell the first and doubtless ihe greatest of the 
C'esars, in the oT.th year of his age, and in the 8th of 
his sole administration. No Roman ever achieved 
more arduous cntcr})rizes than he." He rose to su- 
preme power, in opposition to men of great abilities 
and of much greater resources than himself. What- 
ever standing he acquired, he maintained ; and his 
enemies could only destroy him by treachery under 
the mask of triendthip. Home did uptowe to Ce.-ar 
the loss of her libertirs ; they were lost before he 
was born. He was allured to seize the dazzling 
prize which to all observers, had evidently become 
the sport of fortune, and was liable to be grasped by 
him, who was boldest and most lucky. Had Pomj»ey 
prevailed over Cesar, it is highly doubtful whether 
Rome would have experienced a happier destiny. 

The fall of Cesar seemed only to accelerate the 
establishment of imperial goverrmient. Octavius, 
the grand nephew of Cesar, and Ircir, by will, to his 
fortunes and name, was soon at the head of a new 
triumvirate, viz. himseit', JVlark Antony, and Lepidus. 
This new triumvirate, proclaiminjr themselves the 
avengers ef Cesar, now hastenc d to make war u|u>n 
the conspirators, whose army was headed !)} Diulus 
and Casbius. Had the Roman people desired their 

* ArteDidorus, a Greek Pbilosopher. 
17* 



\ 98 UOxME. 

ancient liberty, wlucli they certainly would, had they 
undcrstDod tlio iinpvjrt of the word, or had they cn- 
tei'lained any just notions of freedonn, they now en- 
joyed an opportunity of regaining it: but so far 
fi'ona that, tije triumvirate were able to excite the 
popular indignation against the coni^pirators, and in 
fact, gained the people over to their cause. The 
standard of liberty wa^deserted, and the wretched 
infatuated people were now employed in rivetting 
tho?e chains, wliicii were never more to be broken. 

The conspirators weie crushed with little trouble 5 
and in shedding the blood of the last patriots of 
Home, the sul»lime Cicero fell a victim ^fo the merci- 
less rage of Antony, and the base and cruel policy of 
Octavius. 

It soon appeared that the triumvirs had combined 
with no other view than as a present expedient, 
which was to bo laid aside when occasion should of- 
fer. Accordingly Lepidus was soon rejected, and as 
he was neither a soldier nor a statesman, he had no 
m.-^ans of redress. Antony and Octavius presently 
diilei<^d, and onr«' mor(" fnarshalled the forces of that 
mighty people undci" thrir hostile standards. Their 
quairel was decided at the battle of Actium. A short 
time after which, Antony expired in Egvpt, and left 
Octavius w ithout a competitor. 

In the 30th vear before Christ, and 724th from the 
building: of Rome, commenced the imperial reign of 
Octavius, under thp titles, of Fariperor and Augustus. 
Rome nov/ became an empire in the more strict and 
proper sense of- the word ; and not^^ ithstanding the 
degeneracy of the Roman people, it continued for 
several centuries to be the most powerful empire in 
the ancient world. 

The commotions and wars, the luxury and wealth, 
the corruptions and loss of public virtue among the 
Romans, did not extinguish, but rather called forth 
and perfected their genius for literature. The sci- 
ences were assiduously cultivated j and men of learn^ 



ROJIE. 199 

ing received the warmest patronage and the amplest 
encouragement from those great and opulent men, 
whose wealth was immense, and whose traflic was in 
states and kingdoms : indeed, many of those great 
men were themselves the favorites of the muses. 

They studied the liberal sciences and elegant arts 
with a diligence scarcely known in modern times. 
Scipio Africanus, accordt«|^ to the testimony of Cice- 
ro, was as eminent for mental improvement, as he 
was in the art of war. Cato was a man of great 
learning and wisdom : and tliose great men who com- 
posed the two triumvirates, especially the lirst, were 
highly accomplished in the liberal sciences. 

When we consider that Cicero was a professional 
man ; that for a cour.se of years, many of the most 
important causes in the vast republic were ably 
managed by him ; that he was a statesman and a 
great leader in the politics of his times ; that he was, 
at times, a civil maii^istrate, a soldier, and a governor, 
and patron of provinces, we ma} truly be astonished 
at the extent and success of his studies. His volu- 
minous writinii^s, which have come down to us, and 
which form the most perfect standard of classic ex- 
cellence, leave us in doubt which to set foremost, 
whether the strength of his understanding, or the 
powers of his imagination ; or which we shall admire 
most, his genius or industry. It is no partial admira- 
tion, by which those writings are preserved. The 
united voice of all enlightened nations have declared 
their merit and judged them worthy of immortality. 

The same may be said of the writings of Virgil, 
and Horace, and many others. But the approbation 
of men of laslc and learning, in all nations has set the 
literary productions of the Augustan age above all 
panegyric. They will be read and admired as long 
as works of genius and taste are held in estimation. 

The Roman empire now appeared in its utmost 
splendor. Though less virtuous and happy, and 
probably less powerful, than in former periods, yet 

i 



the concentrated wealth of the world, the external 
pomp of so vast a monarchy, threw round her a daz- 
zling glory, which the most distant nations heheld 
with admiration and dread. Ambassadors from re- 
mote kingdoms daily arrived to do homage, to court 
alliance, or solicit protection. 

Aiiiriislus held the reins of crovernment : there was 
no competitor — no rival. The people, long fatigued 
with war, were glad to 'eiijoy peace, though under 
the reign of a despot. There was no Brutus nor 
Cassius to conspire or to assassinate. Cato was no 
more ; and Cicero, one of the last luminaries of Rome, 
had been mMrdered, and his head and hands cut oft 
and fixed upon the tribunal, where the thunders of 
his eloquence had so often struck terror to tlic hearts 
of tyrants. The spirit, which animated the Romans 
in the days of l^'abricius, was gone forever. Liberty 
had taken her Hight from llic earth, or had retired 
to the sequestered bower of the savage, while gor- 
geous pride lifted her head to heaven, and trampled 
on innocence, equity, and law. 

Augustus was an artful, insidious tyrant. U'hile 
one of the trium*'irate, he had been careful to destroy 
all the virtuous men who had escaped the bloody 
proscriptioFis, the ci\il wars, and tho violent commo- 
tions which were before hi« time. When his power 
was conHrnied, he endeavored to fascinate the peo- 
ple ; to lull them into security; to inebriate tfjem 
w ith luxury ; to dazzle them with his pomp and glo- 
ry ; and by all possible means to extinguish in them 
the true Roman spirit, and so to qualify and sweeten 
slavery itself, as to cause them to drink it down with 
a j)leasing relish. He succeeded ; for never was a 
people more changed in temper, habit, mode of 
thinking, and national character. 

But detraction itself cannot deny, th.at Augustus 
was a general, a statesman, and a very great man. 
Though void of the magi*animous s[)iril of Cincinna- 
tus, Brutus, and Regulus, yet he alTectcd to revere 



ROME. 201 

(be character of the ancient Romans, and seemed de- 
sirous that a semblance of freedom should still mark 
the character of his countrynun. VS hen he saw 
himself in the undisturbed possession of empire, the 
severities of his administration relaxed ; and he held 
the reins of government with lenity, dignity, and 
wisdom. Few monarchs have enjoyed a longer or 
more prosperous reign. His genius was less warlike 
than that of Julius Cesar; yet in the course of his 
reign, lie had various oppoitunities of showing him- 
self capable of commanding armies and of directing 
very extensive mililary operations. But his great- 
ness was of the tranquil and pacific kind, and he 
sliowed little ambition to enlarge his dominions. 

The reign of Augustus was active, energetic, and 
long. It was his boast that he found Rome built of 
brick ; but t]iat he left it built of marble. 

In the 20lh year of the reign of Augustus, Jesus 
Christy the Son of Cv(L was born. The principal na- 
tions of the known world being reduced under one 
head, and wars and commotions, revolving through 
long tracts of lin;c. now teiniinaling in one immense 
dominion, the troubled elements of human society 
sunk into an universal calm, 'i'hirst for conquest 
was satiated with blood ; the ambition of one was 
gratified, while that of millions was left without 
Iiope. 7*1. e sj)iril of war, wearied with universal and 
liluiost perpetual carnage, seemed willing to enjoy a 
moment's slumber, or was hushed to silence by the 
advent of the prince of peace. 

Jesus Christ was the son of David, the son of 
Abraham. The house of Jamb seems to have been 
pirserved in order (o give birth to lliis wonderful 
personage. Al)raham was born 1090 years before 
Christ, and was the ninth in direct descent firm 
Noah, who is ccmmonly reckoned the tenth lm ne- 
ration from Adam. Abraham fleurishrd about the 
lime of Xerxes er Balcnus. kii-u ol A^?} i ia, and al » ut 
200 years before itlgialius founded the oldest oi the 



202 ROME. 

states of Greece. Jacob the £^randson of Abraham, 
removed hi> family, consisting ot about GO fJtrsons, 
anil his effects, into Egypt, where his posterity re- 
mained and increased astonishingly, for more than 
two ceiUuries. 

Moses, the Hebrew c^^rieral and lawgiver, led the 
Israj'lites out of Egypt S(u)n after (he vclan of Sesos- 
tris. or in (he reign of Pharaoh Amenophis, who was 
drowned in (he Kcd Sea. The lsraeli(es se((led in 
Canaan about the time of the foundation of the first 
stat«'s of Greece, and about the time of the foundation 
of Carthage, as alrf-ady stated. Eleven centuries 
before (he birth of C!iri-i(. the f^rm of the Hebrew 
government was changed from a kind of aristocrati- 
cal repiihlic. or, as it is frequently called by theolog- 
ical 'vritors, a theocracy, to an ahsolute monarchy; 
and Saul was flovated to the throne. 

In (lie year 97.0 before Christ, the ten tribes re- 
vol(''d from (he house of l^avid, and set up a separate 
kini:dom, wiiich continued 215 )earsand was then 
subduof], and rariied in(o captivi(y, by Shalmanaz.er, 
kins: of Assyria, before Christ 759. 'J'he kingdom of 
Judah was governed by the house of David till (he 
year holore Christ 588, making, from the accession 
of Saul, 607 years ; when Xehuchadnczzar, king of 
Babvlon. invaded and conrpjc red Judea, and carried 
Ihe.Fews to Babylon ; where they remained 70 years. 

In the (irst year of (he reign of Cyrus, king of Per- 
sia, 530 years before Christ, the Jews, by a ro\al 
edict from the Persian monarch, were liberated and 
sent home to their own land. They were under a 
nominal subjection to IVrsia, till that kingdom was 
over(urned by Alexander. They then fell to the 
Syrian empire, and sutFered much from the tyranny 
and imposi(ions of the dynasty of Antiochus, till the 
Syrians failed before (he power of Rome. They 
were (Vecjuently visited by the Greek and Romari 
generals ; but their existence together with their tem- 
ple and worship, were prolonged till 73 years after 



ROME. 203 

Christ, when Titas Vespasian destroyed Jerusalem, 
together witli u[)wards of a million of the Jews. The 
remnant of them were scattered into all nations ; and 
what is remarkable in their history, they still exist, 
after 18 ccnliirie?, and are distinct from all other na- 
tions, piirsevering in the rrligion of their ancestors. 

God had promised to Abraham that in his seed all 
nations should be blessed. This <^lorious promise be- 
gan to be verified, when Ood by his m;irvei!ons inter- 
position, redeemed the house of Israel out of Egypt, 
and gave them an exhibition of his character, in a 
code of laws which comprised a perfect standard of 
moral rectitude. But it was more amplv verified 
wlien the Son of God appeared in the world, and, hy 
his life and doctrines, and death and resurrection, 
fulfilled the predictions and illuminated the shadows 
of the Mosaic dispensation, an<l opened the way for 
the promulgation of the gospel through the world. 

That Jesus Christ was a divine person, sent of God 
to enlighten and redeem the world, seems to rest on 
two important pillars of evidence, either of whicli 
would be sufficient to give it independent support. 
These are, 1st, credible testimony ; and 2d, the 
superior excellency of that reliuioiwwhich he tausht 
and practised. Tlje truths of the ^spel rest on the 
fullest testimony, and of that character and kind 
which mankind have never questioned ; and as to 
the excellency of the religion of Jesus Christ, let 
unbelievers deny it if they can, or if they dare. If 
they dare pretend, that justice, inte^crity, benevo- 
lence, and virtue, are unlovely and ought not to be 
practised by men, or if they can deny that these, and 
these only, are what the gospel rccjuires, then they 
can also deny, that the gospel holds up a perfect rule 
of life, and then may they pretend, that it ought not 
to be practised by men. 

The testimony, ou which the Christian religion 
chii'fly relies, respects and substantiates the following 
things : 



204 



ROME. 



1. The genealogy or true descent of CLri.n from 
David ; 

2. The life and character of Christ ; 

3. His doctrines ; 

4. His miracles ; 

5. Plis resurrection. To all these things, there is 
the most full and perfect testimony. 

The excellency of the Christian religion, appears 
in the following articles : 

1. The character of God ; 

2. The character of man ; 

3. What God requires of man ; (Thus far the gos- 
pel fully establishes tlie law of Moses. But it goes 
farther.) 

4. The method of pardon, throuirh the atonement 
of Christ; 

5. The constitution and character of Clirist's 
church ; 

6. The resurrection of the dead ; 

7. '^IMie rewards and j)uni^hm^Mts of a future state. 
In general, it may he said that the gospel requires 

nothing of mankind but what i-^ for their ijood ; and 
it forbids nothing but what is injuiic U'^. A man cou- 
forming to all the recjuiremeijls of Cl)ri>ti;ihity >V(ui]d 
be perfect ; he^ould be without a fault. Whatever, 
therefore, may nave been the oriuin of the scheme, 
nothing more, nothin£{ Ijcttcr ct»ul(i be looked for, in 
one which was known to be divine, 'i'hose who 
would wish to pursue these incpiirie^, and examine 
duly a sul>ject of such vast in)uortarice, ai-e recom- 
mended to read Paley's " Evidence of Cinistianity." 
Tiie reign of Auf^u'itus, if we include his twelve 
years with the triumvirate, was 56 years. No em- 
peror of ilome displa^^d i{re:>tf*r penetration, or 
more extensive and profound noliry : and O'vv men] 
could have succeeded so far in undermining^ and abol-| 
ishi ng the power of Ihe senate, and in changing thei 
nature, >et preserxini^ tli*' forms of the at)' i' ni j^ov- 
ernmcnt. The central point ot all his movementj 



ROME. 205 

and aims, was to extinguish the republican spirit, and 
to render monarchy strong and permanent ; and this 
he did so eflTectually, that the Romans, ever after, 
lamely submitted to slavery, and, for the most part, 
under the fanj^s of a set of infamous monsters, as no- 
torious for weakness and folly, as for pride and cruelty. 

It would be useless, in this compcnd, to mention 
particul'jrly the lives and characters of the immedi- 
ate successors of Augustus. In the most important 
respects they are alike, only that each one, according 
to his time and talents, generally improved upon the 
vices and viliani^is of his piedecessors. 

Tiberius, the son-in-law and successor of Augustus, 
reigned 2.3 years. An elegant historian has >aid that 
lie was '• a mon>ter of pertidy, ingratitude, and cruel- 
ty.*' 'I'o him succeeded Caius Caligula, who reigned 
only four years, and " whose life," says the same au- 
tlior, '"'■ wax a cnulinncd sc« no of dehaucher}'", much 
woise than that of iiis predecessor.'' Caligula was 
suc( ceded by Claudius, his uncle, who was little bet- 
ter than an enfeebled, inconsistent, vicious ideot ; at 
first promising io do well, but speedily falling into 
cv( ry outrag<> and atrocity, lie reigned 14 years. 

Nero was tlie first of the emperors uiider wiiose 
adrninistralion the empire was generally dishonored, 
and the l{om;in name treated with ignomin) and con- 
tempt. Had it not been for the conduct [)ursued by 
some of his surcessors, it might have been tfionght, 
that nothing C(>uld ecjual his follv and madness. <jr the 
astonishinj^' crimes lie perpetrated against humanity, 
reason, and nature. Almost every act of the life of 
Iscro was an outrageous, horrid crime. He murder- 
ed many of the noblest citizens of Rome ; among 
whom, the celebrated Seneca fell a sacrifice, and 
several other philesophers and writers of great dis- 
tinction. He murdered his wife and his mother, and 
set tire to the city of Rome, and while it was burn- 
inix, dressiu'j: himself in tlie garb of a player, he re- 
cited some vcrs'-s on the destruction of Troy. 
18 



'JOG ROME. 

Nero proceeded to such lengths, as at last to he- 
come an object of trnor and dctrstatiDn to mankind. 
The senate drclared him an rnomy to his country ; 
the army revolted; and peojde of every descri[)tit>ii 
combined to crush a detestable wretch, whom the 
earth could no longer bear. Nero reii^ned almost 
14 years ; and in him the family of Augustus became 
extinct, 55 years after the death of that emj)eror. 

(jlalba, Olho. and Vitellius, rose one after another, 
and fell in qui«:k succession, all di>a[)()earing in the 
short space of eiizhteen months. 'I'hey as>umed the 
im[)eri;il [)ur|)le only to disijrace the throne, to give 
innumerable wounds to the empire, and to attach 
perpetual infamy to their memoiy. 

If we except the horrors of the cruel reii^n of Do- 
mitian, the younijer brother of Titus, Uomr was now 
favored with seven nionarchs in succession wlM»se 
virtues adorned the thrnne, and whose eniT^} and 
^vir'dom restoretl and invii:orated the empire. 

V^espasian succeeded Vitellius in the 70lh year of 
the Christian era ; and, in a pros|)erous rei^jn of nine 
years, restored the Roman name to its aneient sph ti- 
dor. He recovered several prtivinces, repelh-d all 
invasions, restored order, harmony, and military 
discipline, and, in fact, extended the bounds of the 
empire. Titus, hi>' son and sticcessor. xvas a prince 
of great virtue. His excellent endi<n ments arid ele- 
gant accomplishments rendered him exceeditiirly 
dear to his subjects. In his reiL'n, JerusaU^m \^as 
destroyed. This pritjcc, in a sh(3rt reii^n of two 
years, dis{)laycd a riegree of wisd..'?n, moderation, and 
self-comiiKind, whif h perhaps no Roman emperor 
ever attainefl to b fore or since his tim'^. The l)ap- 
pincss of his people was rec;ard»(l by him as ihe 
grt-atost glory of liis reii^n. Duiini: this reii;n, bap- 
pc:\e'd that eruption of mount Vesuvius, in uhich 
IMinv, the celebrated pl^ilosoplnr. was <!estroyed. 

Titu-; was succeeded by J)omi!ian, his \ounj:er 
brother, whose vices and cruelties were surpasbcd by 



ROME. 207 

none of his predecessors. After him followed five 
priiire> in surre>sion, whos-e names will ever adorn 
the liistorv of Jlonir : they wrre Neiva, Trajan, 
Adrian, Antoninus Pius, ami iMaicus Aurelius. ^1 li' ^o 
gifal men swayed tlie sceptre for about 80 years. 
Tiiey di<l whatever could he expected from the great- 
est of men and of j>rinc<'s ; in rendering the adniinis- 
tratioo just, eneriji'lic. ;ni(l wise, arid in making their 
suhji . ts liappy. But if the Roman people, even in 
the times of August u«, had fallen from their ancient 
gl .:\ and virtue ; if tliey had lo>^( that greatness and 
iu'U endence of niind, which laiscd the republic to 
cori Miest and renown, what now must have been 
the r >tat*», after bein^ pro?trated, and degraded for a 
ctLlujy by the worst of governments! 



CHAPTER Wll. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE ROMAN HISTORY, FROM 
THE ATCES^ION OF AUGUSTUS TO THE DEATH OF MAR- 
CUS AURELIUS. 

IN our commencement of the Roman history, it 
was obsrrvctl, that a formal abridgment would sc arce- 
ly be fh emed'^nejH^ssary, on account of '\Li being much 
better under?4 qt?d than any other ancient history ; 
and especially,^h Or. (JoldsmitlTs abridgment is 
spread through tiiis '^)untry, and the very thinir. in 
all respects, which the young reader ought to take in 
liand. Wc liave therefore glanced rapidly over it, 
wholly omitting to mention the times and revolutions 
before Romulus, as gtMieraUv fictitious, touching 
sliixhtly on the reign of the kings for 2 15 years — over 
a single city, or a territory not larger than a town- 
ship, as being scarcely worthy to fill up the lucubra- 
tions of a folio; much less to go into a compend, 
where a few principal events only can be noticed. 



'203 ROME. 

And, to give llic reader a just impression of that pari 
oT this history, wluch is UcA known and most impor- 
tant, it has been thouj^ht, that some ^rneral observa- 
tions, direclini^ the mirul to a compreliensi.ve view of 
a whole period, would answer a better pnipi^se than 
a dry skeleton of names, begirt only with vices and 
enormities. 

The [)eriod now before us contains about 210 
years, viz. from the acees.>ion of Augustus, to that of 
Commodus. Concerning this period, we shall note 
'd few tilings : and 

1. The Roman empire, during this period, con- 
tained the middle and southern parts of Europe, tlic 
northern parts of Africa, and tl)e western pails of 
Asia. In the directions and advice of Auuustus to 
his successor, it was warmly recommended, that the 
cm|)ire should not be enlarged. Accordin;;ly, the 
weak and etleminatc emperors iiad no irulination nor 
iil)ilily to do it ; and the valiant and warlike gener- 
ally found business enough in detVndinir wliat they 
already had ; while the wise and prudent were sen- 
sibly impressed with the propriety of the advice of 
Augustus. 'I'hc empire was, indeed, of vast extent ; 
and, if we cast our eyes upon a map, we shall directly 
see, that it comprehcmlcd, as an elegant hi>torian 
remarks, '" the fairest part of the earth, and the most 
civilized po^on of mankind.*** 

Durini: tms period, however, very considerable ad- 
ditions were inude to the empire, and I believe, mor* 
or less in the three quarters of the globe. In Europe 
the (jallic and (Jerman provinces were cnlargcvl, the 
island of (ireat Britain was subdued, and several 
larir*' countries on this side and beyontl the Danube, 
as lllyricum, Dacia, l*annonia, &lc. The empero: 
Trajan, in order to prosecute the war with the I)a- 
1 ians, erected a stupendous bii<l::c across the Danube 
the ruins of which remain to this day, and alFord i' 
sublime specimen of ancient architecture. 

* Gibbon, 



ROME. ^09 

2. The cruelty, depravity, folly, and enormous 
vices of the emperors generallj^ form a striking fea- 
ture in this period. They seem to have been utterly 
lost to all sense of justice, honor and duty. Had 
they followed the examples of Julius or Augustus 
Cesar, the Romans would scarcely liavc had reason 
to regret the establishment of a form of government, 
which rescued them from deplorable wars and wast- 
ing revolutions, urged on by the rage of various pow 
crful parties succeeding one another. Indeed it if^ 
fiurprisinjr, that the iilnstrio«is examples of those great 
men sliould be deserted immediately, and so soon for- 
gotten ; and it can be accounted for in no other way, 
than by supposiii[;. that the reins of 'government fell 
into the weakest and vilest of hands. When \\c con- 
sider the advantages, the first emperors of Home po-^- 
sessed. it can scarcely be doubted, that many of them 
were the lowest, the most detestable and abandoned 
villains that ever swaved a sreptrc. The kings of 
the Ottoman 'J'urks, though barbarous and bloody 
tyrants, were almost withe ut a stain if) comparison 
with those " harpy-footed furies.''* 'iUe Henries 
and Kdwards of Kngiancj. tlif Louises of I'Vancc, the 
llussian, the Gothic and Chinese munarchs, were 
sages, philoso|)her?, philanthropists, and saiiils, in 
comparison with them: nor can w -" "' <' *• history 
of Rome without wondering, how -ible for 

that once powerful and magnanimous ; to be so 

sunk and depraved, as to endure the tyi.iiiUN of tucli 
nlon^t^rs. instead of Inn ling them uith inMignant 
scorn, from t!ie throne \hv\ so deeply di«^ra( ed. 

3. If the fate of I^olar.d, in our own times, stands 
as a bi-acoTi, exhibitirtir to {hv natior.s of the e;irth, a 
dreadful tc^tinionv (.f the ellecls of had governn.ent ; 
we mav certainly derive a stdl stronger testimony 
fr»>ni this period of the Koman history. The wars of 
Marius and Sylla, of Cesar ;.nd Pompey, and of Au- 

• Til liHTpit"- wtTf fiibiiJoi.5 moniltn^lbat poUuttd and epoiJtd 

V. lialt\cr liif^ t(Mi' l:t(l. — Lu. 

10* 



-10 ROME. 

gu>tiis and Antony. l>a<l demonstrated the power of 
individiials to enslave the stale, 'i'hose wars had 
ahnost exterminated the aneient Romans; had extin- 
gui.-hrd ahii •>( all the great and eminent lamilies, 
and (juile all the great men, who dared to speak and. 
act like Romans. At the ?ame time, an immense 
mnllitnde ol foreigners from all parts of the world, 
poured into Rome ; and the army, whith always 
governed Rome, was ct>mposcd ol a mercenary rapa- 
cious crew, as void of jujhlic spirit, as of all sense of 
justice and honor. An empire, iroverned hy a prince 
as prolligate and al)unih.»ned, as weak and ignorant, 
and who was merely the tool oi a mutinous, ill disci- 
plined, and vicious soldiery, must certaiidy experi- 
ence th^ uorst of governnients ; and must feel their 
worst etlects. Accordingly, the lu-tre of Rome fad- 
ed ; her power decayed ; her virtue and haj)pincss 
were forever lost ; and she was abandoned to every 
evil and calamity. 

From various internal causes, the strength of the 
Roman empire d(K lined grfiatly during the two first 
centuries of the Christian era. She was not only 
ahsolutelv hut comparatively weaker. Many of the 
Asiatic provinces seem<Ml only to observe a nominal 
suhj( ( lion ; and the l\irthians, especially in that 
quarter, pni' ' nuth, rose and triumphed, and set 
Rome at di...... . The nations ol (iaul and Ger- 

manv grew strr ::, and often shewed signs of revolt, 
and even indications, that they were one (lay to tram- 
ple upo*T» the a<hes of their conquerors. 

4. The Romans soon gave mrlaiutholy pToofs 
of the decay of learning, as well as of civility and 
politeness. We have spoken of the de()lorahle fate of 
Cicero. Augustus, under the infamous pretence of 
appeasing the resent meiit of Mark Antony, had mur- 
dered and mnngled that great man. The crafty 
tvrant well knew, how necessary it was for liiai to 
silence tliat eloquence*. \>hieh must have sl.akin his 
throne, and to cxtciuiinate that viilue, ^^hich must 



POME. 21) 

have thrown continual embarrassments in the way of 
his ambiliou? schenjes. iMa-cenas, the great Iricnd 
of Virjiil a[id Horace, still lived ; hut he only lived 
as a flatterer, to form new modes of adulation, and to 
act the cringing parasite. 

In the course of the reiirn of the twelve Cesars, 
the Roman horizon, which had been once illuminated 
with one immense constellation of poeis, orators, 
philosophers, statesmen, heroes, and satjes, was left in 
dreary darkness. And if we descend to the reign of 
Commodus, we sliall sec few litihts on that once 
sploncJid horizon, but such as njost resembled the 
horrid iilareof Tartarean tires. 

'* VroTu those flames 

'• No litjht, but rat htr darkness vi-sible 
'' ServM only to discover sights of wo I""' 

Yet tlie names of Seneca, Lucian, Pliny, Joscphus, 
Quintilian,Tacitiis, Juvenal, Phitarch, Justin, and d'a- 
len, were scattered liown this tract of time ; long after 
which Longinua tlomished : and Marcus Aurclius, 
the emperor, was a great philosopher, and an orna- 
ment to the republic of letters. 

b. It will he proper in this place to notice to the 
young reailcr, the nature and form ol the Ri man 
legion, a military establishment and grand instrument 
of the Roman power, by which llome conquered and 
governed the world. It had been improving tint uuli 
every period of the republic, and greatly so by Julius 
Cesar, as well as by gome of his successors. 

The main strength o( the legion consisted in a 
body of infantry, divided into ten cohorts and filty- 
fi\p. companies, which conjpanies were more or less 
fill!. I'.aeh cohort was conimancled h\ a prthct or 
trii)une, atid each company by a centurion. 'I he 
first cohort, which always claimed the post of honor 
and carried the eagle, contained 1105 soldiers, the 
most apj)roved for bravery and fidelity. The re- 
maining cohorts consi'ited each of bC^v ; and the in- 
fantry of a legion, iu ita most improved btate, amount- 



212 ROJiE. 

ed to 6, too raen. Their arms, which were uniform, 
consisted of a helmet with a lofty crest, a breast- 
plate or coat of mail, greaves on their legs, and on 
their left arm a concave buckler, of an oval form, 
four feet in length and two and a half in breadth. 
This hijckier was formed of lii^ht wood, covered with 
biilTs hide and strengthened with plates of brass. 
The pihim^ a lonjr and heavy spear, was the most 
effective of the Roman weapons. With this they 
usually conquered. It was about six feet long, and 
terminated in a triangular point of steel eighteen 
inches in length. This dreadful javelin, when 
'launched from (he vigor of a Roman arm,' often 
pierced helmets, breast-plates, and bucklers; nor was 
there any cavalry that chose to venture within its 
reach. When the pilum was (brown, which was 
commonly within the distance of ten or even six 
yards, the soldier drew his sword, and closed with 
the enemy. The sword was a two edged, short, 
well (empered blade, fitted to strike or push; the 
latter of wliich the Romans were instructed to prefer. 
The legion, in battle array, stood eijrht deep, pre- 
serving the distance of three feet between both the 
ranks and files; so tiiat each one had a suffirirnt 
space to move and wield his arms in ; and this loose 
order gave great celerity to their movements. It is 
remarked, perhaps j'Htly, by IVlr. Gibbon, that " the 
gtreng(h of the phalanx was unable to contend with 
the activity of the legion.'" ]>ut could the phalanx of 
Alexander have contended with the legion of Julius 
Cesar, each under the eyeand animated by thcspiiit 
of those irreat commanders, a dilFcrent conclusion 
perhaps might be drawn. 

A body of cavalry, consisting of ten troops or 
squadrons, was an essential appendair*' of each lejiion. 
The first troop of horse was the cojnpani ni of ti)e 
fii'>t cohort, and consisted of 132 men. 'J'he other 
nine consisted each of OG nien. and were atfnched to 
the remaining nine cohorts. The cavalry of a com- 



ROME. 213 

plete legion amounted to 726 men. Their defensive 
arnis were, a helmet, an oblontr shield, light boots, 
and a coat of mail. Their efTective weapons were a 
javelin and a long broadsword. 

Thus the regular infantry and cavalry of a legion 
amounted to 6,826 men ; besides which, several light 
armed troops, called auxiliaries, were attached to it, 
which, together with all the various attendants for 
baggage, ice. swelled each legion to upwards of 
1 2,000 men. To every legion was assigned ten en- 
gines of the larger size, and fifty-five of the smaller, 
for throwing large stones and heavy darts. The 
force of these engines was such, as to produce aston- 
ishing etfects on walls and towers, and they are 
thought by some writers of note to have been little 
inferior in utility to cannon. 

The camp of two complete legions usually occu- 
pied an exact ^yuare of nearl) 700 yards on each 
side. This sp^Ep-as levelled by the pioneers, and 
the tents were then pitched in the form of regular, 
broad streets, the pra?torium or general's quarters in 
the centre. The whole square was tlien surrounded 
by a rampart 12 feet high, compact!} formed of wood 
and earth, and also inclosed by a ditch 12 feet broad 
and deep. When this camp was to be left, it is in- 
credible how soon the legions would be in motion. 
Their tents beirig struck and packed, each legionary 
loaded himself with his arms, kitchen furniture and 
provisions, sometimes for many days ; and. with this 
weight, which, says Mr. Tiibbon, would oppress the 
delicacy of a modern soldier, they would march, by a 
regular step, 20 miles in six hours. 

'J'he mihtary discipline of the Romans was ex- 
ceedingly strict. They were ac( u^tonied to various ' 
athletic exercises; and their armor in running and 
leaping, was scarcely considered as an incumbrance. 
Such were some of the military arrangements of the 
Romans. In order ic form s(^me idea of their arnied 
force, it may be observed, that the peace establish- 



214 ROME. 

mrnt of Atlrian and bi<5 successors consisted of thirtj 
of these foimi(J.\h!f' 1j -ri'Mis, wiiich were usually sta- 
tioned on tlie h inlo (<f \:\V[Z(' rivers, and alonj^ the 
frontiers of their extensive dominions. The author 
just cited savs, that under the emperors, the lecions 
were more or less permancMiliy stali«>ned, as follows, 
viz. ihrve le^ijions in 15iit;iin ; sixteen on the Rhine 
ami IXinu!)e, where it was earlv discovered »hat mnst 
force was necessary ; fisf^f on the Euphrates; and in 
Iv;^ j»l. Africa, and Spain, a si nj^le legion was sut!icirnt 
for cHcli. Be^iiles all these, a powerful aimed fi.rce 
was always slalienrd in Italy, to watch over the safe- 
ty of the capital, and of the emDeror. 'Jhese were 
called city cohorts and praetorian guards ; and we 
B!i:illsee hereafter, ihat these froepswerc principally 
in'-irurnental in the luin of the rmpire. 

G, The last thinir we shall not if o, as making; a 
con«;picu(»us tlirurc; in this period of iJoman history, is 
the rapid spread and per«5ecuti(»rf!NBp( 'h^istiaflity^ 

The Christian religion was p<*ciniar in its orisrin. 
It was ecju illy so as to the n>eans by which it was 
propai^ated in the world. The primitive Christians 
utterly (li>claimed the use of arms, as a me;nis of 
spreading thcii- principles, 'ih^^ I'died on the na- 
ture o( the truths and maxims lliey tauuhl. on the 
purity of their lives — the meek, quiet, and liJameless 
conduct o( their followers; hut more on t]f^|)ower 
and providence of God. for their support, prosperity, 
defence and promultration. \ ' in this they were 
not disapt^oioted ; for at the elose of the second 
century after (,'hrist, Christianity had penetrated al- 
most every part of the Roman empire. ^1 hey had 
churches established in various parts of A>»ia and 
Africa ; in Greece, Italy, Spain, Gaul, Germany, and 
Britain. 

As professed enemies to tlie ijods of Greece and 
Rom(\ and n« directly opposed to the superstition of 
the <<Mjiiiiics ill which tliey li\ed. tliev were ireneral- 
\y without the. protetiion of law, and odious to the> 



ROME. 215 

reiirnine authorities. Under several of the emperors 
altxad) mt'ntioncd, their butienngs were very great. 
Tliey were subjected to every abuse, and were, ia 
va:?t multitudes, |)ut to death with the most dreadful 
tortures. During Nero's bloody reign they expe- 
rienced every species of cruelty ; and even under 
the reputedly wise and virtuous Aiitonines, as well as 
Trajan and Adrian, multitudes of them fell a sacri- 
fice to the merciless fury of persecution. 



CHAPTKIl XVIII. 

BRIEF HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, FROM 
THK RLIGN OF ( OMMODUS, TO THE EXTINCIION OF THE 
WESTERN EMPIRE, UNDER AUGISrULUS ; CONTAINING A 
I'ERIOU Oi» TWO UlNDRLD AND EIGHTY -THREE 'kEARS. 

"\^'E have now passed the fortunate and happy pe- 
riods of the Horn. in empire. In the .sub<e(|U( nt part 
of the history of this areat people, there is little 
else to contemplate but the most deadly dijiorders, 
th< most ai:<»nizin:; struggles, and the deepj st and 
mo.-^t ostensible decay. But an empire contain- 
ing a liuhtlred and twenty millions of people, found- 
ed inpowfr, we.illh, and poli< y, strengthened by 
cveiy auxiliary of human greatness, triunipbing 
over all eiu ijiies, and (l«\aled aim(Kst br^oiui the 
renih of invaslcMi. cnuld oidy perish by the gradual 
pri^gress of inl mal disorder. 'I be niisfortun«^s of 
Rome spring from her own boom; and it can 

t sraicely be said, tlia! she bad cut n.Ies, till t-he had 

rmed and trained tin m 'o the arts of \\:i\. 

In the If50th \ear of tiio C'hrislian era, Commodua 

.i?(end<d tlie throne. No rt ign was ever n»..re in- 

au-^picious tb.an his ; nor is the memory of any prince 

moie deeply covered witli infa(»>>. l?e iorrned a 

t perfect contrast to the virtues of his illustrious father, 



21 C ROMr:. 

I^I.ircus Aurcliii3. It would be impossible in lliis 
com[)(M)(J to draw a charnctcr more black, detestable 
and depraved than that of Commodus. A detail of 
his vices would occupy more pa«{es, than we can 
allow to the whole period, which is to he the subject 
ol fids chapter. We can say little more, than that, 
durini^ his reigrn, the administration of {government 
was totally abandoned ; and the ntimerous props of a 
fallini^ empiie, which had existed a century before 
this, were now no more. At the scat of t^overnment, 
there was nothing but luxury, riot and murder. \n 
the provinces, extreme di««.>rder, rapacity, misery 
and revt)lt pievaih'd. On the frontiers, the burning 
of cities and the blood of thousands marked the foot- 
steps of invasion, in It ily, disatieclion, conspiracy, 
jealousy, terror, detestati»)n, revenge, fury and despair, 
suiroun h'd the tiirone — lillfd Ihe capital — inspired 
cvt-ry heart, and painted destruction in every face. 
In the airnwij there wa-?* licentiousness, outrage, mu- 
tin\ and (b'-ii-rtitMi. 'I'he solditTs, in njultiludes, for- 
sook their st iiular'ls, .«nd in numberless and tierce 
banditti, infrst^d the hii^hways. The redress of 
wnm^s aiul tlv recovery of lights expired with civil 
ju-tic«'; and while the empin* felt those strong' but 
va.u sti uiri^l'^s, whirh were occasioned by the nrictinn 
of h( ivoatural force, her union, power, and military 
reputation vanished, and left her an immense chaos 
ofdisiorl\nt priiicipbs. ^ 

An iihi>t!i«>M' ptreutaj^e ii^nve hii;h expectations of 
Commodns ; h:}t hi-- rnri'lucl soon bani>hed all hopes, j 
He exiiibited crm lti«'S, at which even N(T0 would 
have shfiddtrred ; and he was more elfi^minite than 
Sardanapal'i*. It seems a pity, for the hopor of hn- 
nianity, that the name of so infanjous a mnn-t<'r 
sIiomM have been pr<>er\rd. |{i> fo'ble and li< 'm- , 
ti 'US rei^n produced calnnities to his country, after 
his VIC'S had destroyed him. and hi^ was no m»r'e. 
He wa>* nosoofier tak«»n olfb^ a conspiracy, condu- t- 
ffd by his favorite mistress, than the choice of ilic 



ROME. 217 

army and senate clothed with the imperial purple, 
ilelvetius IVTtinax. He was above 60 years of age; 
liad served under the ilhistrious Autonints ; and was 
always noted equally for bravery and wisdom. Jle 
had risen from a private soldier, throuiih all the 
grades of military honor to that of pretorian prefect, 
With modesty and rehntancr, he assumed the diadem, 
which he was^esiined to wear, and to grace, only 
long enough to demonstrate his merit, and to enrol 
his name among the most excellent of the Roman 
emperors. 

If the deq:cncrate Romans discovered their mis- 
take', in clevattnij to the throne, a man whose admin- 
istration was utterly re()ugnant to their wishes, he 
much sooner discovered his, in thinkinij it possible to 
renovate the empire, now going rapidly into an irie- 
coverable decline, 'i'he Roman armies, which under 
the Scipios. had subdued Africa and Asia, which un- 
der Cesar had extended the empire be} end the 
Danube, and which under Trajan had conijucrcd be- 
yond the Kuphrates, were now the scorn and ridicule 
of the barbarians. Through a total wAui of disci- 
pline, all subordination was lost — all military Sf)irit; 
nothing remained hut discord, sedition and outrage. 
Pertinax commenced an administration, vigorous, sys- 
tematic and comprehensi\('. 'J he em[>ire, through- 
out her wide regions, felt his pow( r, and saw and 
revered the ecjuity, which marked all his movements. 
It was soon per( eived, that Tertinax would aim to 
suppress those irregularities and restore the disci- 
pline of the aimy to its anci< nt severity ; that he 
would revive the institutions of civil justice; and re- 
trie\ic the fallen dignity of the licman name. But 
alas ! his noble intentions and excellent schemes 
coidd not be ellectuated by mortal prowess ; the nation 
was too fiir gone — too deeply sunk in vice and luxury. 
The jalare. the court, and the capital were filh d 
and surrounded with a swarm of execrable villaii s, 
Nvhom the vices of Conimodub had rendered necesfta- 
10 



2^ 



# 



218 ROME. 

ry, whom his weakness had einboUlened, and the 
corruption of the times had fiirni««hed in ahiindance. 
His first care was to displace those, to exaU men to 
power who were worthy to ruU\ and to restrain and 
punish the insolence of the prttorian guards. 

lie had just entered on this salutary but arduous 
work, when ho was informed, one day, that a mntinv 
was raising in the armv. He had oj||y time to walk 
to the jL^ate of his palace, w hen he perceived a lar^e 
body of soldiers rapidly advancing; with anpry clamors 
imd menarinp imprecations. As llicy drew near. In 
stood his irround and w ith a firm di;:nity demanded 
their husinesi-. \\ iihoui makinii an}"* reply, a Scy- 
thian soldier strut k him dead at a blow. Ills head 
was severed from his hod\, arul carried on a pole to 
the camp; w lure, immediate ly after, the empire was 
olV( red at publii s;ile to the Lii;h(st hiddi r. It was 
bid (»ir hy a sordid wretch, who assumed the purple, 
but who in a few days, sufl'ered all the sev«ritMs o\ 
the fate of IVrtinax, without any of the pity and re- 
gret, whi<h will folhiw the memory oi that great man 
to the latest posterity. 

It is matter of reprrt, that so liMh- is kn(^wn of 
IVrtinax, that so few eireum«'tanres have escaped 
oi>livinn, which would more clearly elucidate his pri- 
vate character ; and especial*; , that so short a lime 
was allowed him of disr)l:iN in£j the enepuv of com- 
niand, tlie wisdom of lc«;isl.tiion,an(l the trreatness of 
man. Historians, however, unite in allowing him to 
rank with (he most woithv men. who ever governed 
Rome. His enertjv wa«- tjuirird by justice; his :iu- 
tlu-rily was tempered with sw eelne.-."* ; iind i»'l his 
supereminent qualities combified to form a chaiacttr 
truly ijroat and amiable. 

\>'ere it safe, howe\er, at this (ijoiiuice of time, 
op,^ mi'zht conjecture, th.it he was too se^ere and 
hasty in his tirst essays at reformation. Had he, by 
some politic and impenetrable mo\ement, cmI rived 
*^ sepirale, and remove to a distance his licentioti- 



ROME. 219 

soldiery, till he could have levied and disciplined an 
army to his mind, perhaps he might ha', e enjoyed a 
longer and more fortunate rci^n. But what pov.cr 
can renovate a nation totally edcminate and corrupt ! 
Pertinax, by his abilities and address, ascended from 
the lowest to the highest rank among men. His re- 
Terses were so numerous, great and sudden, that his- 
torians have given him the peculiar appellation of 
the tennis ball of furluuc 

Fromthedeath of I'ertinav till that of Augustulus, 
the last of the Koman emperors of the west, was 
202 years, during which time, no less than fifty-six 
emperors swayed the sceptre in succession. Their 
nanies may he seen in the tables subjoined : and for 
an account of their vices, \{ot little more is rec(»rded 
of them,) the reader must be referred to the history 
of^tic decline of the Roman empire: on whidi 
part of history, Cibhon is the ablest and most ele- 
gant writer in our language. 

The artful and insidious endeavors of that writer to 
subvert Christianity, and to substitute, no one knous 
what, in its place, are obvious to every render. W-X 
]jis merit as a writer, cannot be questioned ; ami 
although his opposition to Cliristianity, betrayed him 
into many gross absurdities suited to the complexion 
ofliis prrjuiiices, yet hi?* history of the decline and fall 
of the Roman c!n|)ire, is one of the noblest of his- 
torical productions. 

So much has been already said concerning the de- 
cline of the Reman enipire, that the young reader 
may be surprj^d, when h»- understands, that it stood 
upwards. ituries after this period. Butthat 

empire couUl only die a lingering death. West of it 
lay the Atlantic ocean ; south lay Africa, which, 
since the fall of Carthage, was without power; east 
lay Asia, dissolved in luxiiry, always ready to be con- 
quered, as soon as attacked, and enslaved as soon as 
invaded ; and so far from sulxluing Rum<^ that they 
were even too etreminatc to maintain a form of gov- 
ernmeut over themselves. 



220 



ROME. 



The barbarous nations, whicli lay north of (he em- 
pire, weie indeed numerous and warhke; hut they 
couM not subchic the lioman?, till they had learned 
of them th(^ art of war. And the [)ouer of Rome, 
under ihc emperors, lay chielly in the northern pro- 
vinces, where it was most needed. As we have al- 
ready said, sixteen or twenty legions generally lay 
borderini; uj)on the Rhine and Danube. The barba- 
rian-, in th<'*p times, were generally potjriy clt>thed 
and fed, and had Aw arms, as well as little knowledge 
of the art of war. Their invasions were like tho>e 
of a h'lni^ry lion, whom fierce appetite impels to rush 
on the j)oint of tiu- spear, in order t(^ ^eize his prey ; 
and their chi(M' ditlieulty was want c>\ union* Their 
tribes were e(»mposed of warlike, fierce, inijxtuous 
spirits; but thev were unsettled, barbarous, roving, 
independent, and jealous of the power of their clwefs, 
as well ns tenacious of the honor of their tribes. 

Yet the iKitions composini: the northern hive, could 
n(d but experience a gradual improvement. Their 
proximity to a great and eidiLjhtened people, with 
whom they were at perpetu il w.ii, their strength of 
bod y, their inleibn tual vii(»r, and ajnldtion to aecpjirc 
those arts whicli had so long ninlered the Ktin»;ins 
invincible, must, in time, have produced their nat 
oral and unavoidable ellects. In the barbarian ar- 
mies and countries, there must lia\«' hem a nujltitudc 
of Romans. Nund)ers, having tied from justice, or 
induced to rove, from disgust at their own capricious 
and tyrannical government, would naturally seek an 
a<;ylum in the wilds of Iluiojie, ami ^morii: a rn we 
free and e^piit able pe-^ple. Nunajn being detained 
there woul 1, at length, yield to fpctssity, and vohin- 
ta'ilv remain in a I Hid. ^v hither thev had been drag- 
ged as 1 'lives, a-similating by degrees to its customs 
an i habits. 

The ( iauls and Germans, from the period now be- 
fore us. Composed the streni^tliMf the Roman armies ; 
and great numbers of these nations, whom we shafj 



indiscriminately call the Goths, and Vandals, and 
Huns, were now admitted into the Konnan service, 
eillier as legionaries or auxiliaries. Some of them 
were promoted to the highest stations, both civil and 
military, and even w ore the imperial diadem and pur- 
ple, ^lany of these, either never h^l, or else lost 
all attachment to Rome ; and, rejoining their coun- 
trymen, carried and difTused amoni: them the arts of 
war, and advantages of disciplined valor. 

From the reign of Commodus to the extinction of 
the western empire, history presents one uniform 
scene of disorder, vice and misery, ^^c have almost 
constantly before our eyes, a great empire going rap- 
idlv to destruction under the influence of had govern- 
mnit. A very few of the empeiors, however, during 
this dreary period, were both able statesmen and 
Commanders. Had it been their fortune to have 
r<'igned in happier times, and over a more virtuous 
people, their administrations would have donr more 
important service to mankind. But tlu ir best mea- 
sures and greatest exertions, seemed only to have the 
cfTect of medicines given to the si( k man after his 
disease has !)ecomc incurable. 'J hey mi;:ht a little 
procrastinate, but could imA prevent the iitiunc nt of 
dissolution. 

About the vear of Christ 2^57, the emperor ^^^le- 
rian was taken prisoner by the IVrsi.ins,\\ hon no less 
than thirty persons in various parts of the empire as- 
sumed the imperial pur[)le, with the titles of Cesar, 
and Augustus ; and each of them endeavored to sup- 
port his claims and titles by the sword. Tht re can 
be no stronger proof than this of the extreme wretch- 
( dness of those times. All was tumult, war. distiusl. 
ruehy and the most suclden and bloody revolutions. 

But there are two circumstances in the period of 
history now before us, which merit the particular at- 
tention of the reader, vi/. the establi^hment of li.e 
Christian religion throuirhout the ( nipire, b\ means 
of the conversion of the emperor Con&tanline, sur- 



225 ROME. 

namod Ihc Great; and hi:^ removal ot' (lie «cat of cov- 
eriHiKMit from Rome to tlic ancient cilN Bvzanliumi 
which he rebuilt and called Constantinople, or the 
ihe C/7^ of Conslanlint* 

We have already noticed the rapi(] spread of the 
Christian red. ;ion. In the days of Constanline, it 
had penetrated almost every part of the empire. No 
■ooner, therefore, did that prince declare in favor of 
it, than it hecan^e the religion of the conrt, the capi- 
tal, and >()on of the cn)pire itself. This was truly ai\ 
amazin^r chaniie, and forms one of the most memo- 
rahle eras in ecclesiastical history. A meek and 
humble n lii^ion unknown to the world, or if kriown, 
dcspi>ed and pei>c( ulcd, set on foot by a few obscure 
person^ in Judea, anil prupiA^ated only l)y the force 
of rational convi< tion, spr( ad and prevailed against 
all opposition ; overturned the altars and silenced the 
oracles of the heathen; and at last, through hosts of 
prejudices fortified by antitpiily, and sanctioned by 
universal cu-stofn, made its way to the throne of the 
Cesars. It was like a ** stone cut out of a mountain 
without hands, becoming a great mountain and filling 
(be w hole earth."* 

There are various aeoui.ts ^iven, and N.irious 
OMinions formed, concerning; the conversion of Con- 
btantifjc. AVhcther liis mind was swayed by the 
power of truth, or by temporal, political and interest- 
ed motive-*, i«: not easy to detcrn)ine. It is related 
and believed h\ some, that his cor»version was miracu- 
lous. They sav that he saw in the heavens the sign 
of the cross, with (his in>crip(inn in radient letters. 
T'lulo N'lka^ i. e. }}if this cuu(iuf.r^ and that upon tbia 
)ir immediately embraced Christianity. His liiie 
and conduct were bv no means emitient for Chris- 
tiiii virtue; nor was he wholly free from crimes of 
the di^'pcst die. 

From this period the Christian church was loaded 
with honor, wealth and power; nor did her virtue 
ever sustain a severer trial. The chief dignitaries •! 



ROME. 223 

the empire could scarcely do less than imitate their 
master ; and Cliristinnity soon hecame a necessary 
qualificalion for public oflicc. The church now no 
lonirer appeared in her ancient 5im|)Hcity and purity; 
lords and princes were among her convert^^, and she 
was dressed in roht'S of state, ller ceremonies were 
increased ; her forms of vvorslup were loaded with 
j)onip and splendor; her doctrines were intermingled 
Avith the senseless jargon of a philosophy equally ab- 
surd and vain ; and the way seemed pre[)arcd, not 
only fur the decay of Chi i^tian doctrine and morality, 
but of every science, which distinguishes civilized 
from savage nations.. 

After variou-? wars and competitions, Constantino, 
in the year of Christ 320, became sole master of the 
Roman empire. He certainly did whatever could 
be done, by an accomplished general and statesman, 
toward restoring tlie empire to its ancient t^lory. 
But, alas ! he did riot reign over the ancient Romans. 
His people had been often defeated, humbled, enslav- 
ed, and trampled in the du«t. The true Roman spirit 
was long since utterly extingui^hed ; and, as we have 
had occasion to observe, Italy itself was fdled with a 

ft/ 

mighty hetcro^cMieoiis mass of population, of no lixed 
charactrr. His strong genius for a moment sustain- 
ed, but could not ultimately save, the falling fabric. 

The ambition of Constantino gave a more fatal 
Mow to the Roman empire, than even the vices of 
Commodu'. To secure to himself a glory equal with 
that ol Romidu<i, he formed the resolution of changing 
the scat of empire. The place upon which he 
pitched as a new capital, and which should immor- 
talize his nnmc, was indeed well cliosen. The an- 
ci(Mit city of B\ 7;jntium enjoyed the fmest port in the 
woild, on the straits of the 'J'hracian Jiosphorus, 
which communicate with those inland seas, whose 
shores arc formed by the most opub nt and delightful 
countries of Kurope and Asia. Thither Conslantine 
caused the wcalLh,of the empire to be conveyed ; and 



224 ROMK. 

directly a new an<l splciidid city arose, which wa;* 
able to rival ancient Rome. Tliat proud capital, so 
long the mistress of empire, suddeulN became but a 
satellite, and was forsaken of honor, wealth, and 
glorv ; since the emperor, and all who were devoted 
to his interest, used every possible means to exalt 
the new seat of empire. 

This woimd was dca.lly and incurable. It proved 
fatal not only to one city, but to the western ♦'mpirc. 
Rome was utterly aliandoned by Constantine ; nor 
was it much alleviated under his successors, among 
whom a permanent (Jivision of the empire taking 
place, Rome and Italy f<ll under the government 
of a series of weak, miserable, short-lived tyrants, 
who rose by cons[)iracv and f«ll b\ murder in rapid 
successio[) ; till, in the 47tUh year of the Chri>tian 
era, Augustulus, the last of the Roman emperors, was 
conquered and dethroned by Odoacer, king of the 
Ileruli, who, at the head of an immense aimy of bar- 
barians, overrun all llah, and [Hit a period to tho 
western empire. 

Tlius ended Rome, after havinir stood 12^29 years. 
When we consider the lenirth of her duration, her 
character, and the nature and extent of her resources, 
we shall not hesitate to pronounce her the most pow- 
erful and important city, which ever existed, and as 
8tandir\g at the heaii ol the first rank of cities. But 
if this remark is true of Rome in the times of which 
we are now speakins:, it will serve to awaken our ad- 
mit at ion, when we c<Misider that RorV>e survived even 
this shock ; and, as thouiih she was destined to bear 
rule, from being the head of a most powerful empire, 
sho soon became the head of an ecclesiastical insti- 
tution not k'ss powerful. She spread her wing over 
all the poweis of lMiroj)e. They trembled at her 
mandates. She deposed monarchs at her pleasure, 
trampled on crowns and sceptres, and, for ten centu- 
ries, exerted the most despotic sovereignty. Slie is 
even to this dav one of the tinest cities in the world. 



COURSE OF EMPIRE. 225 



CHAPTER XIX. 

BRIEF HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE COURSE OF EMPIRE, 
FROM THE FALL OF ROME TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
THE EMI'IRE OF CHARLEMAGNE, CONTAINING A PERIOD 
OF THREE HUNDRED AND T\\ ENTY-FOUR YEARS. 

FROM the fall of the Roman rmpire, a period of 
darkness ensued, ecjiially dreadful for its ]en£:th and 
for the number and greatness of its calamities upon 
mankind. To trace tlu^ history of those times, is like 
makinj:: a procuress throu£ch chaos, amidst upper, 
nether, and surroundiuij darkiiess. We will fl^^t no- 
tice I he fortunes of r'<)ns(anlinople, commonly called 
the fvastcrn.and in late periods of hi.tory, the Greek 
empire. 

The successors of Con«tantine, whom, in this com- 
pend, it will he impossible lor us ( ven to name, were 
more fortunate in the east, than in the west. 'J'he 
numberless swarms of barbarians, which, in these 
times, poured down from the north of Europe, gene- 
rallN directed their course more w( siwardlv, and in- 
undated France, Spain. Italy, and e\en Africa. The 
rmpire of Constantinople was various in its extent; 
sometimes its torritoiies were very extensive, and at 
oIIhms were limited almost to the citN walls. But 
this city was destined to enjoy a preat and almost pe- 
culiar felicity. It stood unrifled and unimpaired 
through all the storms and revolutions of the dark 
apes, it \%as never taken hv the barbarians of the 
north, nor of the east. It was even fortunate enough 
to rs< ape the racje of civil war, and to survive for 
many a res to triumph over the vices of its degenerate 
iMiwihilants ; till, at length, it was taken b)' Mahomet 
II. emperor of the Turks, in the year 1453,- — 977 
vears alter the conrpiest of Rc^me by the Goths. 

During this long [loriod, the reader will find {evf 
tbinijs in the history of Constantinople worthy of 



22C VIEW or TiiR 

very particular notice. That empire neither abound- 
ed in licroes, philosophers, poets, orat<)rs, nor iiisto- 
rians. Yet the preservation of tiiat one cit} to so Kite 
a period, was certainly an important link in the chain 
of events, which restored the arts and sciences. The 
writers of the middle ages, and especially the crusad- 
ers, speak in the highest terms of the greatness and 
splendor of Constantinople. lier final suhjugation 
to the Turks appears to have been a just juilgment 
of providence upon her, since, though bearing the 
Christian name, she almost uniformly carried a hos- 
tile front to all Christian powers, made more wars 
upon them, and exercised more animosity toward 
them, than she did towards l^agans or Mahometans. 

If we e\c<^[>t Constantinople, the uhule of I^urope, 
from the fall of Home to the eslahli.^hmL'nt ol Charle- 
magne, resembled a troubled ocean. 'IMie most splen- 
ilid riti<s, the most populous countries, and the most 
dcliglitftil regions of the earth, were harassed and 
overwhehnrd \\\{h ruin aiul desolation. We natural- 
ly fuNt turn our eyes toward Italy, whose wretched 
iriluihilants were the severest s\illerers of all. I'hc 
historians of those limes say, that their sufferings ex- 
ceeded all conception ; that neither pens nor pencils 
can describe tlic barbarity, the rage and the violence of 
their savage conijuerors. All tluir ellects were con- 
verted into plunder; their men of c\cry age and 
character weie put to the sword, or draggeil into 
slaver\ ; tht ir women subjected to the mo.>t brutal 
violence, and their cities ai\il villages wiapped in 
flames. 

VVc can ejive the reader no juster idea of the mise- 
ries of Uome, than by noticir)g to him, that during 
this period, that (hvoted city was besieged and taken 
by storm five times in the space of twent) years. 
Those northern invath rs, after having conquered, 
and in a measiire destroyed, the unwarlike inhabitants ; 
of l'»e Komati pi-«iviiu(.'s, fell with fury upon one 
another ; and beveral gloomy centuries were wasted 



1 



COURSE OF EMPIRE. 227 

away in (lie horrors of the most bloodv and desolating 
Mar. Tiie Mediterranean sea did not se( uic tlie 
northern shores of Africa from those terrible inva- 
sions. An immense horde of Vandals found their 
way thither and settled in those fruitful countries. 
But their s**ttlenjent, so far from takings a reirular, 
C(»nsi-tent and pacific form, remaine<l a per|)rtual 
scouige, and accomplished the utter ruin of these 
once opulent regions. 

jNlankind, in those unhappy times, seemed utterly 
lost to all Diental improvement. a< well as to all sense 
of hiimaniiy. For several ag< s the whole himran 
race scarcely produr ed one ornament, or could hi.ast 
of one illustrious ( haracter to illumine the uiii\er&al 
gloom, or to cast a partial beam of liglit throui^h the 
in'elleclual chatjs : so far from it, that those days 
weie spent in destroying the noblest works of art 
and i^'f-nius. A dili^^ent search was made for the n^cst 
vahiible productions of anliiiuitv, not to preserve imd 
treasure up. huf to. demolish, to hum, and to de>troy. 
Nor (lid harl.arians alone pursue the v.uik of dc-tiuc- 
tioii. 'I'he superstitions of the apostate Christian 
cliMich. in toii many instances, lent tht ir aid to that 
infernal Wtuk. 

In this cur ory survey, it would be impossible to 
notice the sli^'hl shades of dith rence in the Situation 
of the numerous provinces of tin- Roman emj)ire. 
And as these times produced no historians, it would 
be arrogance to attemi>t lo tell the reader what wa^ 
goinc: "n, generally speak ini'. in the eastern pp.rt> of 
th^ world. We could s .\ liitle more, than ti.it the 
empire of Cliiua stood firm in its strength, h:i\ing al- 
ready flourished for many ages. India and lei^ia 
have been snhjrct to changes, divisions and r< volu- 
tions from time immemorial, especially the f« imer j 
and the Creek wriU rs are. perhaps, llie < nl\ histo- 
rians, who ever wrote correctly the Persian hislory. 
It was but partially known before, and l.as been f.».r 
less so, since the Auqustan age. The north q[ Eu- 



228 VIEW OF THK 

rope was only known hv the incredible swarms of 
barbarians, which issued from it. and overwlu-hned 
the civilized world. Of the history of Arabia we 
shall soon have occasion to speak ; and coricerrjing 
the itnmense interior of Asia, conirnonly called Tar- 
tar}', the best of modern geoi;raphers arc yet almost 
wholly ignorant, as also of the middle regions of 
Africa. 

'J'he island of Great Britain has been known in 
history, since ll)e lime of its conquest by Julius (Jesar. 
The Britons made a formidable resistance to his 
arms, and wt*re nev«M* but p irtially coiKpiend. When 
the Koman ein[>ire hdl. that island shared in the tren- 
eral calamities. The British called over to their aid 
the Saxons, a nation from (lerniany, to as•«i^t them 
against the ftiry of the Pidsand Scots, by whom lljt v 
were invaded. J'be Saxons, led by Ilengisl and 
Ilorsa, two powerful chieftains, readily obeyed the 
call, and, ai cordinij to the fi>hi(>n of the aixe, came 
over in such numbers, as not only to rep(d the I'icts 
and Scot?, but to contpier and enslave the Britons 
themselves. Thev therefore settled in the south 
parts of the islan I ; and at lenL'lh erected thcnj^.lves 
into seven [)etty but indrpendetil kingdoms, common- 
ly called the Saxon hcptarch3^ These were at 
leni^^th united into one sovernment by Robert, who, 
about the vcar OOO, reiirned over flu rn all, and found- 
ed the l']ni:li»h monarch}. 'J'hi> biMims the Knglish 
history to the close of the period, which was to be 
the subject of (he present ch;ipter. 

Arabia forms the southwest corner of Asia. It i* 
n tract of country consider. ibly more than a thousand 
miles square, and is peninsulated by the I'ersian (iulf 
on the east, and the Ked Sea on tlie west. Tliia 
qrcMt country is supposed to have been peopled oiiiji- 
nally by the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham. 

Of Ishmael it was foretold, that he should be an 
archer, and fliat his lund should be against every 
r>ian, and ev( ry man's hand against him. This pre- 



COURSE OF EMPIRE. 229 

diction seems to have been fullv accomplished in his 
posterity. The Arabs have ever been excellent 
lioi semen and archers, formiduhle wiiii the bow and 
lance; and they have been wilil men. and have dwelt 
in the desert. A singulur circumstance in their liia- 
tory, is, that they have never been conquered or sub- 
jugated by any nation, althouuh it has been attempt- 
ed successively by the C haldeans, the Persians, the 
Romans, and in late ai;e>, bv the Tuiks. 

In the beginning ot the seventh century, a fire 
broke out in Arabia, which for a while, threatened to 
involve in its tlanics all Kurope and Asia. It is re- 
marked by an able historian, as a wonderful svnclno- 
nism, that the very same year, in which the Roman 
ponliir was proclaimed universal bishop, Mahomet, 
the grand impostor, forged the Alcoran in a cave at 
IMecca. The usurpations of the Romish church were 
then complete ; the beast was at his full growth, and 
was then ready to begin his reign. It would thence 
seem probable, that tin; beast and the lalse prophet 
began, and will end, their career nearly together. 

It is matter of doubt, whether the great exploits 
and astoni-hing elevation o( some men. are to be set 
down to the account of tlieir extraordinary natural 
endowments, or to a favorable coincidence of events 
in the world around them. Mahomet, from an ob- 
scure pnrentaire. birth and education, r(»s*' to a height, 
and with a rapidity, almost without a |)arallel. Fiom 
the occupation of a tradesman, he retired to a cave 
in Mecca, where he pretendt d he had frequent inter- 
views with an ant^el, by whose assistance and direc- 
tion, h« wrote the Koran on the plate bones of camels. 
Ife at length issued from the cave, and began to pub- 
lish his mission to the people of IMecca^ A htorni 
was soon raised against him there, and he fled from 
Mecca to Medina. This (light the Mahometans call 
the heaeira, and regard it as their grand epoch, as we 
do the birth of Christ. The followers of Mahomet 
soon became numerous. He subdued, or rather 
20 



230 VIEW OF TUE, 

revolutionized, his native country, and, in a sliort 
time, all the neii^hbourin^ countries. His religion 
spread with his arms, and was embraced, wherever 
he conquered. 

Tiic Sararcns, as Mahomefs followers were called, 
aflrr his death still pursued their conquests; and, in 
a verj short time, all the west of Asia, the north of 
Africa, and the south of Europe were overrun by (his 
drc-adful inundaiion ; which, if possible, was more 
bloody and exterminating, than that of the Goths and 
Vandals. A fnial stop, however, was put to the pro- 
gress of the Saracens in Kurope by Charles IVIartel, 
who defeated them with great slaughter near the 
Pyrenees, kilHng, it is said, 370.000 in one day. 
This battle was fought in tiie year 731. 

iVIahomet declared himself to be the prophet of Ciod, 
sent into the world to cnlightru and reform man- 
kind ; and that he was clothed w ilh i^reater light and 
powers, than eith(?r Moses or Christ, His doctntics 
and morality were drawn fron) such sources, as uould 
best ^uit the prejudices, and obtain currency among 
the nations whom he conquered. They were extract- 
ed from the .Jewish and Christian -scriptures, frojn 
oriental traditions, from legendary trash of the rab- 
bies, and in<leed, from the inventive genius of iMa- 
bomet himself, whose knowledge of mankind enabled 
him to foresee how thev mii^lit easiest he led and 
governed. He tautrht the unity of God, and the uni- 
versality of his providence, or rather, in the strictest 
sense, the doctriries of the fatalist. 

His scheme of morality allowed the full i'. ; "r, 

of the passions, being exactly suite*! to tin n, 
praved mind ; and he so managed the aflnjif«^)f a fu- 
ture state, that they could have no influence in favor 
of virtue or in opposition to vice. 

It was not without reason, that he relied on the 
natural disposition of men for th( ultimate success of 
his doctrines ; but his main arguments, for their 
propagation, v.-ere lire and sword. 



COURSE OF EMPIRE. 231 

The kin;^(]oms of Europe in general, as to tlirir ex- 
tent and boundaries, seem to have been parcelled out 
by accident, or more properly by nature. Spain is 
niJiked out by oceans and mountains; France, by 
oceans, mountains, and rivers ; Germany and Italy, in 
like manner. As early as the period under consid- 
eiation, some remote vestiges may be discovered ot 
the present European establishments. Early in the 
sixth century, Clovis laid the foundation of the 
French monarchy ; at which time the rage of emi- 
gration by nations had generally subsided ; either 
because the wilds of Etirope had poured forth all 
their daring spirits, or because a general refdetion of 
the southern provinces had rendered a kind of rethjx 
necessary. No part of Europe had oftener been 
traversed and ransacked, than France ; but as thry 
found less pluiuler thi-rr, they generally pushed for- 
ward to other countries. The Franks at length made 
a srttlement tlnre, after having driven out and de- 
stroyed several (lothic nations, who had previously 
dispossessed the Romans and ancient (Jauls. From 
the Franks, the country is supposed to have obtained 
the name of France, 'i'lie Franks, aftii- mainlaining 
long and bloody wars wiih sul^secjucnt invach rs for 
several ages, at length found themselves united by a 
more regular form of government under Clovis, who 
is reckoned the founder of the tirst dynasty of French 
monarchs. 

During the period now before us, the face of Eu- 
rope was changed, as we have already stated, by the 
nr^t\.:.. .....] -.,.;^ccn eruptions. The tirst caie of 

- invaders, was to destroy and forever 
to obliterfU^ the inhabitants, the institutions, the 
mannors anci customs of the countries, which they 
subdued. A far more diflicult ta«k than this, was to 
maintain their acquisitions against .^uhsequent inva- 
ders ; for the north of J^urope, like an immense store- 
house of nations, poured forth innumerable horde?, 
in rapid succession. These were equally hostile to 



532 



VIEW OF THE 



each other, and knew nothing but to make war — to 
kill and ravaire wherever ihey came. W helhcr it 
was owinir, however, to the softeninir inlluence of 
mild tlimatcb, combined with the scattered rays oi 
science, humanity, and order, which had escaped the 
overwlielminj; flood of darkness; or whether to the 
imj)ercepti!)lo iniluonce of various unknown causes 
upon individuals, the pfopK' in the south and west ot' 
lluiopc, instead of sinkirjg into a savaije state, began, 
in the sixth century, to assume a regular form of gov- 
ernment, which, though bad in itself, yv\. imder the 
inllufuce ola natural course of causes, uhinmtclv lid 
on to the present state of Kuropc. 

'J'lie northern barbarians entertained a high sense 
(jI frr(;d<>m ; and each of them considered himself as 
entitled to a liberal share of whatever his tribe should 
couvpier. \]av\\ threat chieftain, therefore, granted 
out and divided the concjuered lands to the high elli- 
cers next hiris^elt*, and they subdividtd the same 
amonjr tlieir followers or vassals; under this express 
condition, that each man should do military service 
a certain [)art of his time to his immediate lord, and 
that each lord or great vassal of the court should also 
do military service to the grand chieftain or king. 
'['hi> division of property which prevailed in every 
}nirt of lluropc, was t^rouiuled wholly on milituy 
policy : it bf came, in fac t, the only organized system 
of delVnce t^or several centuries, an<l has (»hlained the 
name of the feudal systetn. 

This system of property, gov( rnment, and war, 
althouirli it must be regarded as a hrn- 'V i]ir\\\(f{- iVoni . 
a direi'd [)lunL:c of the human speci irchy, j 

and all the degradations of a savage slate, yet was i 
radii all V dilective, aiid certainly conduced to pro- 
tiart the ages of darkne^^s. Still, however, it left 
loon^ for the slow operation of causes, w hich woidd 
naturally correct, improve, and elevate the human 
mind ; and which would nt bn'jth originate other 
causes, far more etikient and rapid in rending thu 



COURSE OF EMPIRE. 233 

veil of darkness, and once more ushering the nations 
into the light of science and civility. Those who 
would sec this subject handled with great elegance 
and perspicuity, may find it in the tirst volume of Dr. 
Robertson's History of Charles V. We shall here 
only observe, that the exorbitant power of the middle 
order was the qrand defect of the feudal system. 
'J'he great lords held th<' power of lite and death over 
iheir own subjects ; and also the right of making war 
in their own defence. Of course, if witii such an ex- 
tent of prerogative, tlioy confederated, they always 
outwcii^died the kint:. If they were at war with each 
other, whirh was often the case, the king had no con- 
trol over ihcm ; because it was impossible for him to 
raise or command an army without their assistance. 
On the one hand, therefore, the bands of the monarch 
were tied ; and, on tlie oilier, the lowest order were 
little better than abject slaves to their immediate 
governors. 

The feudal governments were at no great remove 
from the very worst of oligarchies. The want (>f po\N < r 
in tbe prince, and the foi-ee of the nation so divided, 
rendered them weak n^ainst invasion. This weak- 
ness was increased by the jealotrsies and turbulence of 
the £;reat lords, who (n cpiently occasiofied civil wars, 
and at lencrth redueed them to a state of anai( by. fr«m 
which they could <"nl\ be recovered and re-united 
by union, and a strone; sense of common danger. 

In tb«' midst of the fluefnatinc: waves of war, revo- 
lution ami anarchv,the powerful and fortunate genius 
of ChaFlrmaL'ne erected a new empire in Kurope ; 
which, for a n)oment bid f;iir to cut short tbe reitrn 
of dill kness, and re-establi<h llu^se institiiticms. which 
impiove and adorn soeiety. II is dominion compie- 
hended the fairest parts of I'.urope. France. Germany, 
and Italy, 'i'bis event took place in the beginning 
of the ninth eentury. 

Btit as nothiuiTcan be more uninterestinir, than the 
'leril lii->tories of the wars and revolutions of the dark 



234 VIEW OF THE COURSE OF EMPIRE. 

ages, so, even what is known of the battles, the 
5ipg<'S, the vict<M'ies, the concjucst-;, the elevation, and 
the grandeur of Charlennagne, will he Htth' more im- 
provinir to the reader of history, than to tell him that 
Charlemagne was a soldier of fortune ; that he fought 
bravely, and was generally victorious ; in a word, that 
he established a huge empire, consisting of a hetero- 
geneous mass of crude materials — incongruous, dis- 
jointed members, and which he governed for several 
years, not by any regular plan of civil policy, which 
the nations were then as incapable of receiving, as of 
organizing, but by a strong military arm, which he 
wielded with dexterity and success; and that, when 
he expired, his empire fell into pieces. 

Injustice, however, to this great monarch, it must 
he noticed, that he was far from resembling the 
iKMce, cruel, and barbarous chicft;iins of the Cloths or 
Saracens. Instead of deserving the title of Attila, 
(he sconrire of (iod^ and the terror of incn^ he is justly 
celebrated fur cultivating the arts of peace ; for en- 
couiaging men of learning and wisdom ; and for pro- 
moting various important civil institutions. 

iVrhaps, but for him, Kuropc had still remained 
under the cloud of Ciothic ignorance. He merits an 
IioDorable rank among tho<e great and po\>erful 
minds, which evinced the possibility of checking the 
strong current of the times j and, could lie have lived 
and reign'^d for a century, he might have raised l-^u- 
rope tiorn her deixraded state, l^ut time, and a long 
scries of events, could ordy mature those seeds of or- 
der and virtue, which under his administration began 
to vegetate, but which, in a manner, disappeared 
with him, and left the woild in still palpable darkness. 

And here, as in the middle wat< hcs of the night, 
we shall close the first volume of this rapid and cur- 
sory survey, and leave the reader to repo«e in hope 
of a fairer morning ; though a morning w ithout cloudg 
is hardly to bo expected in a world, abounding, as this 
hitherto hi*, more with vice thin uilh virtue, and 
more with darkuess'tlian with light. 



COMPEND OF HISTORY, 

FROM THE 

EARLIEST TIMES : 

COMTREHENDING A GENERAL VIEW OF THfc 

PBESEXT STATE OF THE WORLD, 

niTH RESPECT TO 
CIVILIZATION. RKI IGION. AND GOVERNMENT, 

A >• n 
J BRIEF DISSERTATIOX 

O.V THE 

IMPORTANCE OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE. 



BV SAMUKL WHELPLEV, A.M. 

Phocipal of ihr Newark Academy. 

riFtn KDjrjos, H'irii coNRRcrioss^ 
BY REV. JOSEPH EMERSON, 

Prnrip*! of tljc Bj'tield Seminary. 



TWO voLVMKs /.v oxn:. 

VOL. II. 



HOSTO.V: 

rURLISHKD BY lUCIIAKUSON i LORl 

J. II. A. yrott. Printer, Con^cu-ttrcet. 

1821. 



DISTRICT OF MASSACIirSETTS, to ivit : 

District Clerk's Office. 

liE IT Rr.Mr.MRF.RKl), ihat on the twenty-third day of May, 
\. L). 1B'20, in the I'orty-fonrth Year of the Independence of the 
United Stall s of Anierica, \Nfst, KicHARnso.v L Lord, of the 
faid District, havt deposited in this Orhce the Title of a Hook the 
llitrlit whereof they claim as Proprietors in the Words following, 
/• nil : 

*^ A Compend of FIi«torv, from the earliest time? ; comprehend- 
ing a General \ iew of the Present State of the World, with re- 
spect to Civilization, Reliijion and Government ; and a Brif* 
Dissertation on the Importance of Hi'-torical Knowledge. Hy 
Sam I K.I- \N HF.i.pi.Kt, A. M. Princij)r^l of the Newark Academy. 
J'ourth Kditinii, with Corre( lion?, IJy Rev. .Iosf.pii Kmf.rsox, 
Principal of the Byfield Seminary. Two Volumes in one. Vol. II." 

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, 
entitled, '' An Art fi)r the Unconrn^ement of Learnirig, by J^ecnr- 
iiic: tlie Copies of Maps, Charts and Hooks, to the Author- and 
Proprietors of such Copies, during the times therein mentioned ;'' 
and also to an Act entitled, "^ An .\ct mpplcmentary to an Act, 
entitled, .\n Act for the Fncouracement of Learning, by securing 
the Copies of Maps, Charts and Hooks, to the Authors and Pro- 
prietors of such Copi«'s durinir tlie times therein mentioned ; and 
exleiidinc the Pent fits thereof (o the Arts of Desii,ning, Engraving 
and Etching Historical, and other Prints." 

JOHN W. DAVT>, 
Clerk of the District of Maasachustltt. 



TO THE KEADEll. 

IN the preceding volume, we have attempted to sketch 
the ffreat line of history, through the ancient nations. 
A similar attempt with regard io the modern, and on the 
same scale, however small it may appear, would be im- 
practicable, without extending the work far beyond its 
intended limit. The reader has already been apprised, 
that a methodical abridgment, even in the former part 
of the work, was not intended ; much less will it be in 
the subsequent. 

As we approach our own times, the subject matter of 
historv become so copious, that its very outline would 
fill volumes ; and its skeleton could not be accurately- 
drawn, but ill a work of magnitude. 

In passing through a field so wide and diversified, we 
shall be able oidy to suggest some of the principal topics 
of hi'^torical observation. It will be like gliding lightly 
and swifllv over the numberless waves of the ocean, and 
touching only some of their highest tops. Yet our selec- 
tion of topics has not been without regard to the pleasure 
and profit of the reader. It is feared that the rapidity 
and general nature of the narration, kept up for so long a 
tinie, will chill and disgust the mind. Hut we appn^hend 
less danger from this source, than from a strictly chrono- 
logical form, which would exhibit a much greater number 
of tacts, but without combination. 

In our choice of objects to present to the experienced 
reader, we have had continual reference to the power of 
association, and have endeavored to present such as will 
be most likely to bring to remembrance groups of ideas 
and circumstances, which were once fresh, but are now 
fading in the mind. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

VOL. II. 

CHAPTER I. Fogs 

BRIEF Historical View of Europe, from the beg:in- 
mug of the ninth to thit of the sixteenth century, 
containing a period of 7U0 years 5 

CHAPTER II. 
The Cnisades 1 1 

CHAPTER HI. 
The Ottoman Turks 14 

CHAPTER IV. 

Innportant Discoveries and 

Improvements 21 

CHAPTER V. 
Brief Historical View of the Nations of Europe, 

from the sixteenth century to tlie present day 26 

CHAPTER VI. 
■■ France 41 

CHAPTER \ 11. 
^ . Tlie Northern Powers 57 

CHAPTER VIII. 
—_ Great Britain 75 

CHAPTER IX. 

^ The Ecclesiastical States 87 

CHAPTER X. 
The Present State of PLurope 92 

CHAPTER XI. 
of Asia llo 

CHAPTER XII. 
, . Of Africa 139 

CHAPTER XIII. 
. — Of America 149 

Brief Dissertation on the Importance of Historical 

Knowledge 209 

Chronological Tables 219 



HISTORICAL COMPEND. 



CHAPTER I. 

BRIEF HISTORICAL VIEW OF EUROPE, FROM THE liEGINNlNO 
OF THE NINTH TO THAT OF THE SIX lEENTH CENTURY, 
CONTAINING A PERIOD OF SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS. 

THE history of Europe, from the 9th to the iGth 
century, presents the following important particulars, 
viz. — The decay of the feudal system ; the crus;ides ; 
the revival of commerce, followed by that of the 
liberal arts and sciences; the organization and estab- 
lishment of several European powers ; the origin, 
rise and progress of the Turks ; antl blendtd with 
the whole, a series of bloody and desolating wars, 
the offspring of depravity and ambition. 

During the period now before us, we shall, in this 
and the followini: chapters, take notice of such lead- 
ing traits of character and such events only, as con- 
cern Europe in gereral. 

In a former chapter, we have given such a general 
sketch of the feudal s^strm. as was judged sufUv if iit 
in that |.lace. We siiall, however, further remark 
hrri\ that that >*ystem, not only opened a new era on 
the pet'pleof Europe, but gave to the various wheels 
of society, a mometitum, which still influences their 
motions. The feudal chiefiains ac(|uir( (1 an ascen- 
dency, especially in pro|)erty, which slill continues 
to mark the grad(^s in society : aiuJ though the feudal 
tenures have gradually melted away, and given place 
to a more civic form, <\si)eciaMy in England, yet the 
ancient grants of lands marked out certain channels, 
20** 



6 EUROPE. 

in which properly inust (or a long time continue to 
flow. 

'1 lie foufhil system n.ay be defined, the grcinting of 
laiicis to c cr(:un pe^so^l^, in consicJ; iMtion ol' iiiilii;iry 
seivicr.>. At nhat time, or in uhnt [jlace, tliis ciis- 
ti)in orjiri^iaicd, it is not ensy to determine. It is the 
opinion ot nriny, tluit it was rathei- the accidental re- 
suit ol" the stale oi' society and properly, which suc- 
Cf edtd the overthi-o\v of the Romati empire hy the 
bai'iarians. l>ul others, among w hom judge Black- 
stoi^c is the cliief, allirni it to have heet^ atT»ong the 
ancient customs of the north of I'^urope, as early as 
the times of Julius ('esar. \\ e shall leave this in- 
(]nii-y to be pursued by such as have leisure and in- 
clination. 

This system gave a direction to the spirit of free- 
dom, prevalent among the descendants of the con- 
qu«'rc;rs of Rome, with which the ancients were never 
act^udinted. 'J'his was fully displayed in the insti- 
tutions of chivalry and knight errantry. 'J'he general 
ol)j<.'Ct of those injtitutions, appears to have been, 
tlur promolion and dtdenco of integrity, honor, virtue, 
innocence, and merit in general. They often, indeed, 
awakened too keen a sense of injnrv, and thirst for 
revencre, and of course terminated in blood : but they 
certaiidy led the way to that refinement of sensibili- 
ty, which is the chief ornament of civilization. io 
those institutions must undoubtedly be ascribed, the 
incih of rai^if.g the female sex to that rank, which 
thev oui;bt to hold as rational bcini^s and members 
of society ; and of securing to theni that treatment 
— that protection and respect, which are due to tlieir 
softness, their delicacy, and their superior sensi- 
bility. 

I'he raising of the female sex to the rank and es- 
timation they now hold, in the politer nations, must 
certainly be regarded as one of the most illustrious 
events recorded in '^ivil hi-iory. Though it seems 
to Ijavc arisen out of chivalry and knight errantry. 



EUROPE. 



yet the truth probahlj is, tiiat its origin may be traced 
to a deeper cause. The people of the north of Eu- 
rope had very early broken loose from the inebriat- 
ing manners, and despotic governments of Asia, and 
had, of course, never imbibed their maxims, but re- 
tained a stronj^ sense of the native independence, 
liberty, and equality of men. Those original no- 
tions, when retined a little by the influence ol wealth 
and learning, enkindkd a spirit of gallantry and 
personal honor. 

The spirit of chivalry carried men to all lengths 
in defence of their own honor, or of that of the lady 
whose protection they had avowed. They would run 
all hazards, dangers, and ditliculties, encounter all 
liardships, or face death in e\ery form. 

Those principles and passions, wlieti ameliorated 
by the lapse of ages — when restrained by the influ- 
ence of enlightened morality and salutary laws, form 
some of the noblest liaits in ihe human character. 
\nd it i- pleasing to look back into those barbarous 
times, and see the seeds of order and improvement, 
even among the Goths and \'andals, w ijich should 
one day spring up and far transcend the refinements 
of Greece and Rome. The con(juerors of Kome wc 
generally and justly Bt} le barbariaris ; but they were 
in many essential rcspe( ts, h^s barbarous, than the 
Romans whom they conqtiered. They had more 
justice and integrity, and more of every manl^^virtuc. 
They were far less depraved in their morals; and 
possessed minds at least capable of improvement. 

Another custom, which was the genuine growth of 
the feudal s}st(ni, and which obtained an extensive 
inlluencc through Europe, was the trial by duel — the 
most unreasonable and extraordinary practice which, 
perhaps, ever existed among men under the form of 
justice and legality. 

The decision of causes b) duel, became so credi- 
ble and so common, tl.at even actions of debt w« re 
decided by it. All possible disputes, which required 



8 EUROrE. 

the intervention of law, were settled in open court 
by single combnt. The person who failed was con- 
sidered as having lost his cause, by an act, that was 
providential and divine. The evils and calamities 
of this practice were very great. In those times 
quarrels and controversies were frequent, and litiga- 
tions incessant ; and the whole world even in times 
of peace, was overspread with slaughter, mourning 
and distress. Those capricious trials wore, at every 
step, liable to take a turn, \\liich strongl) marks the 
licentious freedom of the times; for even the judge 
on the bench was liable to be challenged for his sen- 
tence, or an advocate or witness at the bar, for his 
advice or trstimonv. It was no uncommon thine: for 
the judge to be challenged on account of his decision, 
the advocate, for his counsel, the witness, for his tes- 
timony, and even the friends of one party or the 
otln r, for their countenance on the occasion. But a 
case far more common than this was, that very often, 
previous to the day of trial, the plaintiiFor defend- 
ant, the witnesses or the judge, v.ere assassinated. 
Those were times of cru(dl}, of darkness ami misery. 
There is great reason for gratitude to that all power- 
ful, overruling Providence which determined, that 
mankind sljould see happier days. 

'1 be revival of con)nuMce was one of the natural 
consequences, resulting fiom the spirit of liberty and 
enterprise prevalent in tbe f( udal system. . The an- 
cient nations generally n^garded every species of 
traffic, as rittacbing to itsell' a certain kind of igno- 
. miny and degradation unworthy of nobility. But 
that reprt»acb was wholly \\iped away in the revival 
of commerce, arul it was thought not unworthy of 
the patronage and attention of lords and piinces. 

Venice, (jenoa, Pisa, and several other of the 
Italian cities, having obtained certain privileges and 
exernj^tions from feudal customs, led tbe wa} in Eu- 
ropean commerce. They soon rose to a degree of 
wealth and independence, which gave them an in- 



EUROPE. 9 

flucnce in all the ^reat concerns of Europe. Venice 
was the first, the most powerful and permanent re- 
public, which rose after the tall of the Roman em- 
pire ; and, next to Great Britain, is the most surpris- 
ing proof, which any age allbrds, of the power of 
commerce. 

When Maximin, the Roman emperor, besieged the 
ancient city of Aquilcia, the inhabitants perceiving, 
that the tyrant would carry the city by storm, found 
means to make their esca[)e in the night, and lied to 
ihe marshy grounds which Vie at the head of the 
Adriatic gulf. Those grounds are said to be accessi- 
^))lc only hy one causeway or pass. Here those un- 
fortunate but hardy people settled on a cluster of 
little islands, and on flats, wliere the land and water 
disputed for empire. But the Aquiicians stepped in, 
aiui wresting the dominion from both, huilt vvli:irves, 
and dykes, and bridges; and at length with an in- 
trepid industry, almost unknown to the world, they 
raised a noble rit>, which may be regarded among 
the cities ol modern Europe, as the fust born from 
chaos and darkness. Enridied by commerce, and 
ennobled by a sudden and surpri-ing revival of taste, 
it soon became equally sjdendid and powerful. It 
merited to have given law to Europe, and, for a while, 
had well nigh done it. But if it did not govern f^u- 
rope, it certainlv did fov her a much more honorable 
and illustrious lusk. It saved her from the horrid 
fantrs of Turkish power; and, in so doing, from a 
second age of darkness — perhaps from irretrievable 
ruin. 

The power of the Venitiansby sea was such as to 
be an overmatch for the Turks, till otiier powers 
arose in Europe, who could cope with them by land. 
But the eommeiee of the Italian states fdled all the 
ports of Europe with the richest commodities, and 
served to awak< n a general spirit of enterprise, which 
had slunibered lor many eenturi'^s ; or, more proper- 
ly speaking, hnd a^}et scarcely been awake. The 
21 



10 EUROPE. 

Italian states, in strictness, wore the first commercial 
people vvlio ever existed in Kuiope. 'Jhe Romans, 
rightly called the descendants of Mars, were never 
a commercial people. They carried on, no doubt, 
some commerce, as they did arts and agriculture. 
Buf they, very early, ibund out a readier way of ac- 
quiring wealth. Instead of tradinir with nations, they 
conquered them, and took the whole of their etfects. 
^V'hen they had done conquering, and had nothing to 
do but enjoy their wealth, they still chose rather 
to fight than to trade. Of course they fought among 
themselves. The Gauls and Britons traded some : 
but their trafiic was of a limited and local nature, and 
in the light of modern commerce, deserves not to he 
mentioned. Some of the Grecian states, indeed, did 
something in the commercial line, but their character 
was rather military and scientific. '• They combat,'' 
said one, " for glory, and not for interest.*' 

The empire of Charlemagne, although it survived 
him but a short time, strengthened and edified the 
French and German monarcliies. Spain, at this time, 
contained several petty kingdoms; and some of the 
Italian republics, in the ninth and tenth centuries ac- 
quired permanence and a regular form of govern- 
ment. Little had yet occurred to break the force or 
loosen the foundations of the feudal system. It stood 
in its slrenicth, and might forever have remained an 
eirectual bar to the impro\ement and civilization of 
Europe, had not wild fanaticism, and extravagant su- 
perstition at length effected, by the most extraordina- 
rv means, what never could have been looked for in 
a regular course of probable events. A[) event took 
place which shook the minds of men from their es- 
tablished foundations : tore up from the bottom their 
deepest prejudices; awakened them from the slum- 
ber of ignorance and the dreams of delusion ; and 
presented before them illustrious motives and models 
of action. 



EUROPE. 1 1 

CHAPTER ir. 

VIEW OF EUROPE CONTINUED. THE CRUSADES. 

AT the end of the tenth century, a rumor prevailed 
through Europe, that the Son oi" God was about to 
make his personal advent to this world, in order to 
estat)lish a universal empire, the seat of which was 
to he at Jerusalem, it occurred, therefore, that it 
wa8 a duty, the performance of which would confer 
illustrious merit, to rescue the holy land from the 
hands of infidels, in order to be in readiness for that 
grand event. It was proposed, that the Christians of 
Europe should march in a body sufficient to crush 
the Mahometan powers of Asia ; and it was inculcated 
and believed, that, under the sacred banners of the 
cross, they should bear down all opposition, or, if any 
fell in b;ittie, that their cause would be a certain pass- 
port to the regions of bliss, 

/Preaching heralds were suddenly dispersed through 
Europe on this important mission. Some of them 
went clad in sackloth, with th<^ir heads and feet 
bare.* They flew with incredible speed from king- 
dom to kingdom, promising to each soldier of the 
cross at least the eternal blessing of heaven, and 
threatening such as remained inactive with the end- 
less wrath of Deity. 

Their success was beyond calculation. The most 
powerful princes enlisted under the banners of (he 
cross. The flame spread, and continued to burn, 
from the shores of the Baltic to the straits of Gibral- 
tar ; and from the banks of the Danube to the bay of 
Biscay. All causes were 8wallow(;d up in one; and 
men of all pF-ofessions, of all ages, descriptions and na- 
tions, coalesced under the honorable title of soldiers 
OF CHRIST, and champions of the cross. In all places the 
martial trumpet was heard, and warlike preparations 
were seen. Immense swarms of people thronged from 
* Peter the Hermit, and others. 



1^ EUROPE. 

all quarters, to places of general rendezvous, whence, 
in btill larger bodies, they rolled like mighty torrents 
into Asia. Never were the nations of Europe agitated 
by so general a passion ; nor did ev(T a public passion 
equal this for sti-engih or duration ; for it governed 
Europe so entirely, that to make, to preserve, or to 
recover acquisitions in Judea and its neighborhood, 
was tl'.e strand and favorite ol^joct for two centuries. 
The reader may judge of the importance of the en- 
terprise, when he is told, that, after two centuries 
were elapsrd, u[) wards of two millions of lives lost, 
and incalculable sums expended, the Christians lost 
all footing in Judea ; which has ever since remained 
under the power of the Turks. This was probably 
among the wildest, most vain, and extravagant enter- 
prises ever undertaken by man. We shall only add 
the sentiment of an elegant historian, that it is mat- 
ter of lasting regret, that thetrusades, being the only 
enterprise in which the powers of luirope ever gen- 
erally engaged, should remain to all posterity an un- 
exampled monument of human folly. 

But however vain and extravagant the crusades 
were, they were productive of lasting good to man- 
kind. They changed the character and the manners 
of Europe. They, in the first place, drew otF and in 
a measure exhausted, those fierce and (iery spirits, 
which could never be at rest. They gave full scope 
to the ardor of thousands of knights and chevaliers; 
so that their flaming and inordinate courage found 
other employ, than to waste and extinguish itself in 
the blood of honest and peaceable citizens. 

The general union of all Europe in one common 
cause, although a wild religious frenzy was at the 
bottom of it, prevented many wars, hushed many 
commotions, and caused numberless private animosi- 
ties to be forc:otten : the inhabitants of diiTerent 
countries became acquainted with each other; and 
especially, when they met in the remote regions of 
Asia, they looked upon each other as brethren en- 



£UROPE. 13 

gaged in one grand cause, where life, honor, and 
glory were all at slake. The crusades ma} in fact 
be regarded, as the commencement of that inter- 
course among the people of Europe, which has heen 
ever since increasing; and which cannot fail to as- 
similate and polish their manners. 

The Venilian fleets were greatly concerned in 
transporting the armies and the provisions of the 
crusaders. The latter, therefore, had an opportunity 
of beholding and admiring the improvement, civility, 
and politeness, as well as the convenience, the aflllu- 
ence, the power, and prosperity, which result from 
commerce. They were equally astonished and infla- 
flamed with the idea. They transmitted accounts of 
the glory of Italy back to the countries whence they 
came, and inspired their countrymen with a spirit of 
emulation. 

Many of their armies passed through Constantino- 
ple, which, as already stated, was the only great and 
important city, that escaped the ravages of the north- 
ern and eastern invaders, and descended, unim- 
paired, through the dark ages. 

In the year 1204, one of the most memorable in 
the times of the holy wars, an event took place of 
considerable consequence to the west of Europe. 
This was about the time of the fourth crusade ; and 
was productive of some very important consequences, 
Constantinople had long been the seat of civil wars, 
conspiracies, and revolutions. An army of French 
and Venitians now besieged and took it, and placed 
Baldwin, earl of Flanders, on the throne of the 
Greek empire. The family of Baldwin held their 
empty title for nearly CO years, when it was wrested 
from them by the Greek emperors of Nice. 

This will account for the fact, that Flanders and 
the adjacent countries led the way in the revival of 
letters. Constantinople, it is probable, contained the 
most valuable and precious remains of antiquity, 
which had been there collected by the great Con- 
21* 



M ' TIRK>*. 

atantlne and liii successors. The <3nit iprisc oi. the 
crusaders spread over iMirope whatever information 
they jGrained in their travels; and, as Constantinople 
was their place ot^ general rendezvous, the liijht, re- 
finement, and science derived from thence, were, in 
the course of two centuries, dnrinj^ which the cru- 
sades lasted, diffused through Europe. 

In fine, the crusades ejave a general concussion 
to the puhlic mind, which forever shook olF the 
tyranny of many l)ari)iroiis customs; and hroUe the 
lon^ and deadly slund)ers of ignorance, whose nar- 
cotic influence on men's minds is always in propor- 
tion to its nature and extent. By promoting nation- 
al and social intercourse, they tended powerfully to 
melt away the prejudices and assimilate the minds of 
men. As they had a union of ohjcct, they would 
naturally impress the mind with a sense of the pow- 
er, practicahility, and good policy of combinations 
and extensive alliances. As they passed through 
countries far more cultivated, more enterprising, and 
more opulent than their own, they could not but 
draw instructive compaiisons; and must naturally 
wish to imitate those, whose wisdom and industry 
had secured to them prospeiity and power. By all 
these means the eyes of mankind were oj)ened, and 
many nations of the earth received, at the same time, 
im[)ortant lessons of instruction — the genius of Eu- 
rope was roused and stood ready to explore the ave- 
nues of knowledge, and to trace the intricate paths 
which lead to more extensive tields of light and im- 
provement. 



CHAPTER III. 

VIEW OF EUROPE CONTINUED. THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 

ABOUT the besinnins: of the 13th century, a 
new power arose, which first made head in Asia, and 
at length became the terror of all Europe. We have 



TURKS. 1 b 

spoken particularly, in the former part of this com- 
pend, of the irruptions of the Scythians from the in- 
terior parts of Asia. A warlike tribe, sprung from 
this prolific fountain, had for some time infested the 
countries of western Asia, and at length were estab- 
lished in Bithynia. Othoman appeared at their head, 
and laid the fonndation of a dynasty of most warlike 
and powerful princes. He flourished about the year 
1229. (\u no part of the annals of history, do we find 
a braver, more politic, or fortunate race of monarchs,i 
than that of Othoman, or Olhman. They seldom 
failed to unite bravery with prudence, or good for- 
tune with enterprise. In Asia and Africa, their con- 
quests wore co-extensive with the empire of Rome; 
nor would they have fallen short in Europe, but for 
the intervention of unexpected causes. 

Othoman was succeeded by his son Orchanes ; he, 
by/Amurath I.; and he, l)y Bajazet 1. Amurath led 
a great army over the Hellespont, and invaded Eu- 
rope. After making various conquests, he fixed the 
seat of his empire at [Adrianople. Amurath estab- 
lished the janizaries, perhaps the most powerful and 
eflicient corps, the mobt perfectly trained to the art 
of war. and the ablest and most to be relied on in the 
day of battle, of any ever known. In the history of 
the Turks, it is remarkable that, for several centu- 
ries, the succeeding monarch outdid his predecessor. 
'J'he son generally excelled the father in energy, 
policy, graiideur of schemes, and felicity of execution. 
This remark will in a good measure apply, till the 
reign of Solyman the Mairnrficent^ who raised the 
Turkish empire to its zenith of glory. It was not so 
w ith the emperors of Rome, but often the reverse. 

Bajazet, the son of Amurath, was a very great gen- 
eral. He was impetuous as a thunderbolt, yet of 
cool and thouijhtful courage. He possessed the craft 
and policy of negociation. together with the powers 
of compulsion. The Turkish armi«'s in his time were 
distinguished for their numbers and discipline. Ba- 



i6 TURKS. 

jazct generally commanded from three to five hun- 
dred thousand men ; but, the flower of his army was 
50,000 janizaries. With such a force, no power in 
Europe could have resisted him ; and he had matured 
every plan for extinguishing the Greek empire in the 
capture of Constantinople. But Providence had 
raised up a power, before which this haughty con- 
queror must fall, in the midst of his pride, prosperity 
and glory. 

Tamerlane was, by inheritance, prince of a Tartar 
clan. Nature had endowed him with a mind capa- 
ble of forming and executing the grandest enter- 
prises. He early showed that superiority in council 
and in action, which raised him to the high station of 
cham of the Usbeck Tartars. His capital was 
Samarcand. He soon, by the wisdom and energy of 
his administration, drew to his standard innumerable 
Tartar tribes, and saw himself at the head of the 
empire of Ghenghis Khan. Inflamed by the glory of 
that great conqueror, he invaded and subdued India, 
extending his empire to the eastern ocean. From 
the conquest of India, he had just returned, enriched 
•with spoils of immense value, when embassadors ar- 
rived at his court from the emperor of Constantino- 
ple, whose capital was now besieged, and from va- 
rious other Christian princes already expelled from 
their dominions. These embassadors implored the 
aid of Tamerlane against the haughty Turk, who 
threatened the conquest of all Europe. 

The mighty Tartar immediately despatched a 
herald to Bajazet, desiring to know the reasons of his 
conduct, and otfering to mediate between him and the 
Greek emi)eror. Bajazet, whom no power could in- 
timidate, returned a haughty and indignant answer; 
upon which Tamerlane marched against him, it is 
commonly said, at the head of a million of men. All 
Europe stood paralyzed for a moment at th«^ expect- 
ed shock ; and dreading fevery thing if the Turks 
should prevail. They came to a general battle near 



TURKS. 



17 



Angora, about 200 miles E. S. E. of Constantinople. 
Perhaps a greater battle has not been fought in 
modern times. Each army was drawn up in the most 
consummate manner, according to the tactics of the 
times. Fifty thousand janizaries, in a solid column, 
occupied the centre of the Turkish army, at the head 
of which Bajazet fought on foot. 

Tamerlane, in the morning, drew up the flower 
of his immense force, under the command of his 
ablest officers ; and directed them to commence the 
action, while he looked on as a spectator, and stood 
ready to send necessary reinforcements from time to 
time. He had previously announced to Bajazet, that 
he might expect to meet him in battle, when he 
should see the green flag displayed. 

The first shock was tremendous ; and the ensuing 
conflict truly dreadful. The Tartar lords reminded 
their soldiers of the glory of Ghenghis Khan and of 
the conquest of India. 

'■'■ Long time in even scale, the battle hung/' 

At length, however, the wings of the Turkish army 
began to eive way, borne down by the almost infinite 
force of the Tartar cavalry and infantry, who fought 
with astonishing rage and fury. Tamerlane, per- 
ceiving the moment' of advantage, despatched ten 
thousand horse and as many foot, to sustain the wast- 
ing ardor of the battle. 

The Turkish army were generally defeated, dis- 
persed, or cut to pieces, except the janizaries, who, 
animated by the presence and example of their gal- 
lant monarch, seemed to defy all mortal prowess. 
They stood firm like a rock, which, unmoved, sustains 
the surging billows.- This formidable force, compos- 
ed of troops of known superiority, and led by the 
Turkish sultan, who fought with prodigious valor, 
still held the fortune of the field doubtful; when 
Tamerlane was seen advancing under the green flag, 
at the head, of 50,000 chosen cavalry, the splendid 
guards of the conqueror of the east. At that moment 



18 TURKS. 

the battle was renoweJ, and the janizaries, now near- 
ly siJiTOu Jiitd, luii^l)t with atnazini; bravery around 
the prrson of their kiiii;. Hut thry were over- 
whilmed as with an irrcsistihle torrent; and Baja- 
jEet, contrary to his own determination, was taken 
ahve. with many of his gjiards. 

It is rt^Iiitetl by some hi^tori^ns, that Tam<'rlane 
demanded of Bijazet, when brought before liim, what 
he woukl have done with him, provided fortune had 
declared in ids favor? 'I'he captive monarch sternly 
and hauglitil\ rcphed, '' I would have put \t)u into 
an iron eaj^e, and carried you for a show all over my 
kin'^'dom.*"' '' 'f he same," said Tamerlane, ** shall be 
d(»iu' to yourself;" and, it was accordingly done 
without driay. 

Tamerlane, having:: resrued the Grnek emperor, 
and fr»'ed Kurope frcm immediate danj^er, hy lium- 
blii': tli(» 'I'urkish power, returned into Asia; and, 
subdued Syri'j and Palestine, proceeded to Egypt and 
Persia, returning after a period of eiglit years to 
S'lmarcand. through the middle countries of Asia. 
Ife is represented as a priiu e of tjreat moderation 
and self-command, and of a mild and nmiable lenjper. 
He was adoreil and almost deified by his subjects. 
His reii;n was lontc and ()rt)sperous ; and his domin- 
ion*- are thouiiht to have b(!en nearly as extensive, 
as those of Russia, compreh» niling a considerable por- 
tion ol the known world. 'J'he emperor of Ilindos- 
tan claims direct descent from 'I'amerlane, whose 
lineal descendants aUo led the 'f'artar.> in the conquest 
of China. They, of consccjuence, now possess the 
thrones of China and India, and govern a third part 
of the human species. 

The Tartars interfered no more with the Ottoman 
Turks, but left them irraduallv to recover from so 
deep a woimd. Nor were the Christian princes able 
to avail themselves of this favorable opportunity to 
complete the ruin of so formidable a foe. Solyman 
]. the son and successor of Ibjazet, derived courage 



TURKS. 19 

and fortitude from his father? misfortune ; and col- 
lecting: the shattered remains of his foices, soon ap- 
peared at the head of an army, which was able to 
keep the field. So severe a check of the Turks, 
however, protracted the capture of Constantinople 
for nearly a century. Solyman was succeeded by 
Mahomet I.; he, by Amurath II.; and he, by Ma- 
homet the Great. This prince took Constantinople 
in the year l4o3 ; which «as followed by the subju- 
gation of all Greece. The Tu^k^, under the suc- 
ceeding reigns, became the most formidable power 
in Europe, till, in the T€\iir\ of Solyman the Magnifi- 
cent, A. D. 1526, after subduing Hungary, and car- 
vying ofT 200,000 prisoners, that great piince ad- 
vanced into Austria, and laid siege to Vienna. But 
.on the approach of Charles V. at the head of a great 
army, he raised the siege, and retired into his own 
dominions, doubtless remembering the faie of Baja- 
zet. This, however, carries us beyond the p( riod, 
which was to be the subject of the present chajiter. 

As the brevity of this compend will not allow us to 
enter again particiilarlv on the Turkish history; be- 
fore we dismiss that article, it will be proper to state 
a few things, wliich do not properly bi long to (his 
chapter. There was probably never a race of 
monarchs of equal r»l>ilities for war with the Otton^an 
race, as far as to the r( ign of Solyman the Magnifi- 
cent. They were certairdy great in the 'art of gov- 
crnini: a turbulent and liei'ntious race of men. as uell 
at home, or in times of iicaee. as in thr fn Id o( bat- 
tle. And, what is matter of the hiirhesl admiration, 
every succeeding reign seemed to eclipse the former ; 
and the de<'d«5 of the father were forgcfttcn in the su- 
perior exploits of the son. Mahomc t the (ireat, who 
took Con"^tantinople, is universally alK>wed to have 
been a most politic and accomjiisbed prince, as v. e!l 
as the greatest comm.indc r of his time. But the 
greatest of the Ttirki>h empt rors was Sol) man the 
Magnificent. In bin) were coitit>ined the first quali- 



20 TURKS* 

ties of the soldier and statesman. He was fierce and 
furious as Bajazct, and artful and cruel as Mahomet 
the Great ; besides which, he displayed a grandeur 
and di<;nity of mind, which no Turk uver did bi^fore 
or after him. In his rei<{n, the Turkish empire gain- 
ed its utmost height of jjower and glory ; and though 
his successors cannot generally be styled weak prin*- 
ces, yet the em})ire has ever since experienced a uni- 
form and progressive decline ; and, it has been thought, 
would one day fall before the power of Russia. 

Notwithstanding the great abilities of the Turkish 
emperors, it must be confessed, that their characters 
were extremely unlovely, even to a man ; (all their 
good (pialilies bein^j deeply shaded with cruelty, and 
stained with blood. Tln^y commonly ascended the 
throne, thruugh the blood of their nearest relations; 
and we may apply to them the strong metaphor, ap- 
plied to Simpon and Levi by theii father Jacob; 
Jnstriuncnls of cruelty arc in (heir hdhitalion. 

There is no nation more uniform in their chararlrr 
than the Turks. In mind they seem morose, melan- 
cholv, mistnisifiil, and of course in their manners 
cold, distant, and repulsive. Nor do they var> from 
this character, though dwellin?, as they have so lonir, 
in those mild and pleasa?it countries, which, it miizht 
be thouiiht, would natwralh tend to render their dis- 
positions more chcirfid, and their manners more gen- 
tle and enj^aging. It is a painful reflection, that 
those very countries, where the ancient Greeks car- 
ried literature and philosophy to such perfection, are 
now inhabited by some of the most stupid and ugly 
of the human race. One would be ready to wish, 
that so gloomy and dirty a race were exj>elled from 
Europe, and that some nation capable of ap[)reciating 
the advantages of the country, would take possession 
of it. 

The word, Tml:. it is said, signifies a ii^ondcrfr. or 
hani:')ccl niav. Some writers l)a\e conjee tuied tliat 
the Turks are descendants of the Jews, or of the ten 



DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS. 21 

tribes of Israel, From u liatever source they sprung, 
they erected a mighty fabric of power and dominion ; 
and could the course of empire be represented by a 
line drawn through states and kingdoms, it would 
pass through Turkey ; since there was certainly a 
time, when the Turks were the most powerful nation 
in Europe, and, if we except China, perhaps the most 
powerful in the woild. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SAME CONTINUED. IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AND 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

AJ>tlic crusades ofTected a general change of char- 
acter in Europe, they in fact laid the foundation for 
the dawn of that grand epoch, commor.ly called the 
rcvhal of letters. The crusades had, in some measure, 
looserjed the fetters of the feudal system, and dillused 
a spirit of enterprise through Europe, when com- 
merce, which had long been limited to Italy, began 
to move northward, along the shores of the conti- 
nent ; and Ghent and Bi'uges, and the towns which 
afterwardjj formed the body of the cekbiated llan- 
scatic league, began to grow famous in Europe. 

Toward the close of the 13th century, the crusades 
had ceased, and all the Christian acquisilions in Asia 
had fallen into the hands of the 'i'urks. The wbe«'ls 
of comrr.erce had just begun to move, and innnbrr- 
less enterprises and improvc^ments were yet in a state 
of enil)ry(>, when a di5icover_y was made of the highest 
importancGi lo the commercial and literary world. 
Tiir diflicully and danger of voyages at sea. had, 
from the earliest ages, operated as a powerful im- 
pediment to navjorntion. It frequently happened, that 
a long continued obscuration of the [leavenly bodies, 
in stormy seasons, was attended with most dreadful 
consequences to whole fleets, which were driven on 



22 JDISC0VERIE5 

shore, without any possible means of foreseeing or 
avoiding the danger. The invention of the Mariner's 
Compass, in a great measure, remedied these evils. In 
the year 1 300, the magnetic power to giv-e polarity to 
iron, was discovered to be of importance in naviga- 
tion ; and a compass was constructed, which, at all 
times, would instantly refer the pilot to any point or 
course, he wished to know. This truly great and won- 
derful discovery was made by Goya, at Venice ; and 
may serve to give mankind a just idea of the super- 
eminence of the Venitians in naval affairs. Colum- 
bus, in his adventurous voyage of discovery, first per- 
ceived the variation of the compass. This irregularity, 
though arising from unknown causes, is found, how- 
ever, to be reducible to such establii^hcd laws, as not 
much to lessen the usefulness of the instrument. 

Upon this discovery, innumerable difficulties at- 
tending navigation vanished ; and the fearless mari- 
ner traversed the main oceans, under a surer guide, 
than a transient view of the sun or stars. The dis- 
covery of the mariner's compass was attended with 
vast conseqtiences to mankind. It opened innumera- 
ble sources of communication, intelligence, and im- 
provement ; and was a grand epoch to all commer- 
cial nations. In short it gave a new face to the old 
world, and brought a new worKl to light. 

If the mariner's compass formed a new and grand 
era in navigation, an invention took place in the fol- 
lowing century, A. D. 144], of still greater impor- 
tance in the literary world, and of more extensive in- 
fluence in the revival of letters, viz. the art of print- 
ing. Before this wonderful invention, books were 
scarce, and bore an exorbitant price. -They^ could 
only be multiplied by the slow and painful operation 
of copying one after another; and poor and laboring 
people could neither purchase, nor transcribe them. 
But printiuiT multiplied books be3^ond calculation, 
and reduced their price in e([ual proportion : so that 
ihe world is now full of books; and the printing of 



AMD IMPROVEMENTS. 23 

the most useful and elegant productions of genius, 
costs but a little more than the blank paper. By 
these means, useful learning began to be generally 
diffused through Europe. From remote antiquity, a 
certain mode of block printing has been known and 
practised among the Chinese ; but which "bears little 
resemblance to that important art discovered in 
modern FAirope, from which benefits of such magni- 
tude have arisen to mankind. 

In connexion with the first mode of printing, if we 
consider the valuable improvement of the Stereotype, 
in which all the letters are correctly formed on the 
face of one solid plate, and there remain unalterable, 
we cannot but be filled with admiration. The inven- 
tion of printing is entitled to an honor second to 
none, but that of alphabetic writing. 

The perfection of the naval system, and the exten- 
sive multiplication of books, have given a propor- 
tional difhision of light and improvement through 
many nations. There seem to be but two more grand 
improvrments necessary, in order to place mankind 
on that footing for progress in reason, philosophy and 
virtue, which their exalted powers and faculties, and 
immortal natures, demand. These arc universal 
peace, and a universal lan^^nage. 

1. Universal peace. Although this idea is com- 
monly received by Christians as a matter of faith, 
and by many others as a groundless theory, yet it 
seems capable of defonre on the principles of reason. 

It is generally said, that a man wants but lo under- 
stand his own interest, in order to pursue it.* And 
nothing is more certain, than that the bulk of man- 
kind need oMy to understand their true interest, in 
order to revolt from the idea of war, with utter ab- 
horrence. Look over the history of wars, and see 
for w hose benefit they have been undertaken and car- 
ried on. They have been generally waged, to grati- 
fy the passion, and carried on to support the thrones 

* It is very far from being true. Hint men liave generally pur- 
sued their own best interest as far as they have understood it. 



24 DISCOVERIES 

of the most barbarous and detestable tyrants.' Read 
the history of Alexander's wars. For what did his 
soldiers undergo intolerable hardships and indescrib- 
able daiiEjers, but solely to gratify his insatiable am- 
bition ? When sjich as escaped carnage, had answer- 
ed his purposes, covered with scars, and disabled by 
toils, ihey were cast olF, as a worn out shoe or tat- 
tered irai-ment, and consigned to oblivion. Tlie same 
may be said of most other great conquerors. It may, 
indeed, be urged that war furnishes employment for 
men ; but so does robbery, and almost every other spe- 
cies of crime. And ought such a reflection as this, to 
lie against Divine Providence ? Can we, for a mo- 
ment, surmise, that men are thrown into such a condi- 
tion here on earth, as to liave no other means of sub- 
sistence, than schemes for the destruction of f ach oth- 
er ? God forbid ! This argument, in favor of war, is an 
insult upon the Creator, who has said, Thou shall not 
kill. It is also sometimes said, that war is necessary to 
diminish population; and that otherwise the world 
would not hold or support mankind. Must then man- 
kind become worse than wild beasts, and cruel as 
devils, in order to disburthen the world of its super- 
numerary iidiabitants, and thin the ranks of society ? 

He who has made man, and given him the earth 
for his habitation, intended it for his support, and 
there can be no doubt, that, could peace become per- 
manent and universal, the arts of peace would so 
flourish, that the earth would support more millions, 
than it now does thousands : the whole earth would, 
at length, become a garden. 

Before the globe should acquire more inhabitants, 
than it could support. Almighty Providence, ever at 
hand, nnd all whose course is marked with equal wis-1 
dom and benevolence, would help us to a solution of 
this difticulty, in a way of which, in our present be- 
wildered state, we can form no conception. 

^. The plan suggested by Leibnitz and many oth- 
ers, of a universal language, or as some have styled 



AND IMPROVEMENTS. 25 

it, a language of thoughts, would probably result from 
universal peace. To the hostility of nations ;nay be 
reasonably imputed, in a great measure, their diver- 
sity of languages, customs and manners. By these, 
they are divided as by walls of immeasurable height, 
and kept strangers to each other. They cherish not 
only personal animosities, but even an aversion to 
each other's religion, politics, and learning. Could 
the veil he removed from human reason, and the true 
light of philosophy shine, men would learn to respect 
one another, and national prejudices would vanish 
away. Then also the prospects of pleasure and ad- 
vantage resulting from a more intimate union between 
nations, would produce numbeiless schemes to facili- 
tate a communication, which could only be rendered 
complete and universal, by a universal language. 

Whether genera and species of things, or in short, 
whether universal terms can be, in any way, express- 
ed by characters or symbols, and particulars by com- 
binations or indices, we cannot say. Men's thoughts 
are about things 5 and things are the same to one 
which they are to another ; thrrefore men think 
nearly alike, except when they think about words, 
and get out of the region of nature into that of art. 

That there will be a written language, which all na- 
tions can read and understand, is, in fact, a thing far 
more probable to us, than it can be to a savage, who 
never heard of an alphabet, or that there is such a 
thing as we call reading and writing. But what char- 
acters, combinations and gestures will compose that 
language, some future Cadnius must determine. 

In the midst of the gradually increasing light of 
science, a few men, in various parts of Europe, seem 
to have been able to tear ofl". at once, the palpable 
veil of darkness from men's minds ; and to consume, 
in a moment, the miirlity masses of wood, hay, and 
stubble, which ignorance and superstition had been 
heaping upon science for a thousand years. The 
names of Erasmus, and Grotiusjand rulFendorf merit 
22* * 



2G GERMAXT. 

the ]ii<rhc5t honor in the illustrious list of the father? 
of literature. AnJ. at this period. /Christopher Co- 
lumbus, a native of Genoalplanned and executed the 
fjrandest enterprise ever undertaken bv man. From 
his know Iodide of (he tisrure of the iriobe, he conjec- 
tured there must be a bal.ii^.cing continent, to operate 
as a counterpoise to the old one. 

For several vears Columbus petitioned the courts 
of Furopc in vain. At Icnfjtli he was furnished with 
a small squadron of ships by the court of Spain, and 
commissioned to go and seek for the new world in 
the wrstern ocean. Braving the dangers of an un- 
known sea, and tlie mutinies of his more boisterous 
and tempestuous sailors, he performed the adventur- 
ous voyage, and discovered a continent. The grati- 
tude off^pain fewardrd his services <fvith chains and 
a dungeon') and mankind to mend the matter, have 
Ccalled tliC quarter of the globe, which he discovered, 
after Americus. a Florentine pilots— about as nuich 
entitled to that honor as I3an)field Carew, king of the 
oypsies, or Tangrolipix the Turkish chieftain. 

We have now given the reader a brief sketch of 
the causes, 5»hich raised the nations of Europe into 
a state of improvement and civilization, after the 
rei£:n of darkness and barbarity for so many ages. It 
now only remains that we consider their progress, 
under the more auspicious influence of science, mo- 
ralitv and reliuion. 



CHAPTER V. 

BRIEF HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE NATIONS OF EUROPE, FROM 
THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY TO THE 
PRESENT DAY, 

GERMAN^'. 

DURING a considerable part of the 16th century. 
Europe was governed by monarchs, whose uncom- 
mon abilities enabled them to improve the science 



GERMANY. 27 

of Jiovcrnmenh Charles V. ]ienry VIIl. Francis I. 
and Solvman the Majrnificent^were then actors in 
the great drama, of which all Europe was the stage : 
and each sncceedinir year held up new scenes to the 
politician, historian and philesopher. 

The posterity of Charlemagne held the throne of 
Germany for a hundred years, when they were reject- 
ed hy the princes of the empire, and Conrad, duke 
of Franconia. was elevated to the imperial dignit}. 
Since th it time, the monarchy has been elective. 
Various families enjoyed the dignity ; and the empire 
was constantly cnijaged in wars with France, with 
tliC northern powers of Europe, with the pope, or 
with the Turks. Bv the death of the emperor IMaxi- 
milian in 1519. the G'rman throne, at that time con- 
sidered as the first among the royal dignitaries of Eu- 
rope, was become vacant. Two candidates of very 
different but equally powerful claims, sought the suc- 
cession ; Francis the First, king of France, and 
Charles, king of Spain and the Low Countries. The 
proximity of France to Germany, the high military 
reputation of Francis, the interest he had with se\eral 
electors, and his capacity for intrigue, induced him 
to hope for success. 

Charles, w ho by his accession to the imperial thmne 
was denominated the Fifth, was descended from 
the hou>e of Austria, and by family alliances was the 
most powerful prirvce in modern times. His father 
was Philip the Handsome, archdiike of Austria, and 
son of the emperor Maximilian. 'J'he paternal grand- 
mother of Charles was the daughter of Charles the 
Bold, duke of Burgundy; and from her he inherited 
the sovereignty of F'landers and all the Low Coun- 
tries. His mother was Joan, the daughter of Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella, in whose right he inherited the 
monarch}' of Spain and South America. 

These*^ powerful rivals endeavored to substantiate 

their claims, and [in-ss their pretensions bv various, 

. and indeed, by weighty considerations. The known 



28 GERMANY. 

abilities of Francis, as a soldier and statesman, had 
already spread his fame, and added terror to the 
arms of France. The truly vast resources of the 
young Spanish monarch seemed to point him out, as 
the proper person to sustain the high and important 
chari<c of governing and defending the German em- 
pireT But the electors, jealous of the French on the 
one hand, and fearing on the other, the extreme . 
youth of Charles, unanimously determined to make | 
an offer of the imperial crown to Frederic, elector of 
Saxony, who was surnamed the Wise. The refusal 
and reply of that magnanimous prince on so inter- 
esting an occasion, which we copy from RusseFs 
Modern Europe, is worthy of a place in this brief 
sketch. 

" In times of tranquility," said Frederic, " we wish 
for an emperor, who has no power to invade our 
liberties. Times of danger demand one, who is able 
to secure our safety. The Turkish armies, led by a 
warlike and victorious monarch, arc now assembling; 
they are ready to pour in upon Germany with a 
violence unknown to former ages. New conjunctures 
call for new expedients. The imperial sceptre must 
be committed to some hand more powerful than 
mine, or that of any other German prince. We pos- 
sess neither dominions, nor revenues, nor authority, 
which might enable us to encounter such a forn)i- 
dable enemy. Recourse must be had, in this exigen- 
cy to one of the rival monarchs, each of them can 
brine into the field forces sufficient for our defence. 
But as the kine: of Spain is of German extraction, as 
he is a member and prince of the empire by the 
territories which descend to him from his grnnd- 
fatiicr, and as his dominions stretch along that fron- 
tier, which lies most exposed to the enemy, his claim, 
in my opinion, is preferable to that of a stranger to 
our laniiuise. to our blood, and to our count i}."" 

'• In ronscquenc<' of tliis speech," continues the 
same author, '* Charles was elected.*' 



GERMANY. 29 

As we now hare before us by far the most impor- 
tant period of German histor}. we shall be a little 
moie particular in giving a sketch of the reign of 
Ctarles V. This we shall do, not b}'^ exhibiting a 
detail of events, but by stating a few of the lead- 
ing objects, which present in the histories of those 
times. And 

1. The first object, which engages the attention 
under this reign, is the rivalship and contention be- 
tween Charles and Francis. Of this there is scarce- 
ly a parallel to be found in history. Tlieir ambition 
was equal; and the resources and abilities of each 
were very great, but extremely ditlcrent. The cen- 
tral and compact situation of France gave it greatly 
the advantage in several respects. To this add, that 
Francis I. was not only an accomplished statesman, 
but an able commander. His genius, however, both 
civi! and military, was of a peculiar cast : and no two 
rivrils were ever more completely ditfercnt. He 
was brave, active, energetic and impetuous ; though 
at times his impetuosity betrayed him into rashness. 
lie manifested greater abilities in extricating him- 
self from dillicullies, into which his hasty, generous 
and credulous temper had thrown him, than his rival 
did in gaining advantages over him. 

Charles was gloomy, plodding, and in dissimulation, 
seldom surpassed.; But the distance of Spain and 
Germany, the two vast machines he had to manage 
and keep in order, and, in short, the distance of both 
from the Low Countries, and of the latter from Aus- 
tria, consumed his time and denied him the celerity 
necessary to war and conquest. Indeed when we 
consider attentively the de^itj^ns, which Charles ac- 
complished in a long and splendid rrign, they can 
hardly be allowed to be answerable to the greatness 
and viL;or of his genius, or restiirces. In his wars 
with Francis, he generally had the advantagf* ; and 
the famous battle of Pavia in 1525, in the sixth year 
of his reign, seemed to rrev\ n his good fortune in the 
entire ruin of his antagonist. 



50 GERxMANY# 

On the 24th of February 15'25. thp imperial guards 
encountered Francis at Pavia, nrar the ri\er Po, in 
the duchy of Milan. The French army was (Jrfeated 
with great slaughter, and the king liim;;elf made 
prisoner. 

Charles having his rival and implacable enemy 
now in his power, dictated to him such •.ondi(^ol)^' of 
peace, as his own haiii;hty and crafty policy snggest- 
e(i. These conditions F^ran'i-. :=igned. in ordc.i to 
gain his liberty, hut was careful never to lulfil. 

Thoui^h the vast power of the emperor always 
seemed to icive him the upper hand, >ct F'rancis at 
the time of his death, left his kiofidom far hotter 
than he found it ; and, indeed, his able and vi^<ir(»us 
achninisti-alion laid the foundation for the elev .tion 
of France to that sublime height, to which she has 
sini^e risen. > "^ 

^. VUc second leading object in the rei':];n of 
Chailes V. was the systematic and formidable resis- 
tance he made to the 'I'urkish powiT ; an*i this was 
by far the most fortunate circumstance of his; reign. 
Tho Turks had become truly terrible to all I'^urope. 
'J'he capture of Constantinople, and the re<luction 
of the Greek empire, although it established their 
dominion over the finest regions of the globe, swell- 
ed tlieii- treasures with incalculable wealth, and ;{ave 
them the fullest enjoyment of imperial magnificence 
and luxury^ neither abated their courage, activity, 
nor ambition. Their next field of glory was the 
German empire; and Solyman the Mat^niticent, now 
on the throne, seemed every way equal to the great- 
est enterprise. 

Under the reign of this prince, the Turkish power 
gained its utmost height. Solyman, determining, if 
possible, to excel his ancestors, had actually planned 
the conquest of Germany ; and, as before stated, had 
reduced Hungary and laid siege to Vienna, the capital 
of the German empire. The disposition of Charles 
wqs too cool and contemplative te delight in a military 



GKRMANY. 31 

life. The present call, however, both of self-preser- 
vation and of glor)' was indispensable. Charles ap- 
peared at the head of an armv answi rahle to his own 
greatness, as well as to that of his adversary. No 
force so formidable had been brought into the field 
against the Turks, since the defeat of Bajazet by 
Tamerlane. Each army was doubtless composed of 
the 6nest troops in the world, directed b^^ the gn atest 
masters of the art of war, and that under the imme- 
diate eye of two of the greatest monarrhs. 

These two consummate statesmen, however, saw 
too clearly the consequences of hazarding a general 
battle. They already had too much to risque ; and, 
from the event it seems, that neither of them wished 
to fight, unless pressed by necessity to that dangerous 
measure. On the approach therefore of the impe- 
rial ariii3% Solyman prudently retired into his own 
dominions; nor did he see cause, during the life of 
Charles, to make a similar attempt upon Germany .^ 

The immense fabric of power and policy, which, 
during Charles's reign, Germany presented to the 
Turks, in fact, repressed that warlike nation, and 
their military spirit seemed to expire with Solyman 
the Magnificent. 

3. Charles V. was, at heart, no great friend to re- 
ligion, in any form, especially when it was likely to 
interfere with his favorite &( hemes. He was much 
fonder of an earthly, than of a heavenly kingdom. 
This consideration presents another important trait 
in his reign. For notwithstanding the greatness of 
his power, it is probable the reformation could not 
have been set on foot in any other reign, with great- 
er or equal prospects of success. Charles had no 
idea of adopting any new religion, nor did he want 
very much of the old. He was, therefore, an enemy 
to Luther and the reformation, of which he was the 
instrument. But the vast schemes of policy, in 
which his mind was enj^aged, left him no room to 
direct his attention to the suppression of what he 



32 GERMANY. 

considered as a religious heresy. He therefore, for 
a considerable time, left Luther and Ins adherents to 
the censures of the church, whicli he well knew were 
not apt td be sparinii:, especially toward those, who 
attacked her corruptions. 

Lulher had dared to erect the standard of rebellion 
against the sovereign pontilf, \vho?e claims and abuses 
of spiritual power were equally enormous. Ihis he 
first did by exposing the wickedness of the sale of 
indulgences. Long before tliis period, the pope liad 
claimed the power and riij;ht of pardoning sin. At 
fir-t he granted remission upon confession and signs 
of repentance ; but these terms being at length 
thought too cheap, the criminal was comuel't'd to 
pay a sum of money, in onler to obtain absolution. 
From sins past, the transition, by a little retincincnt, 
was not difficult to an anticipation of fougiveufss. I 
This, as may readily be suppose<l, soon became an ^ 
imoortant and veiy lucrative traific to the church. 
Indulgences to commit sin were actually sold ; and 
men would so cherrlully pay their money for tins 
article, that it became a principal source of church- 
revenuf. It is said that the sale of indulgences was 
begun by Urban II. in order to encourage men to en- 
gage in the crusades. 

In the times of Luther, it had arisen to a wry 
high pit( h ; and the various provinces and depart- 
ments of the church were actually farmed out, and 
the business reduced to a regular s\stem. 

From censuring this practice, which for the enor- 
mity of its wickedness was perhaps never surpassed, 
Lulher proceeded to other corruptions of Popery, 
and with rapid course, at length to attack the whole 
fabric^ of Papal power. The pi)j)ulaiity of his talents 
and the force of truth, seemed to aid the purposes of 
Providence in his exertions. His su<Tess was amaz- 
ing. Among his adherents were many persons of 
distinction, and some of the mo<t powerful princes of | 
the emj)ir^, particularly the elector of Saxony, and 
the Landgrave of Hesse. 



(GERMANY. 33 

Whilst the pope was endeavoring by the terror of 
his spiritual thunders, to subdue Luther and his fol- 
lowers, and render them obedient to his will, the em- 
peror was deeply engaged in far different schemes; 
intending, however, wiien he should have leisure, to 
crush the reformation, at a blow. But Charles never 
found much leisure from the toils and vexations of 
ambition ; and before he was ready to second the 
ifws of the pope, the reformation had taken too deep 
root to be easily extirpated. 

This period of German history brings to light one 
of the most extraordinary characters of modern times. 
Maurice, marquis of iMisnia and Thuringia, rendered 
liimself conspicuous by his formidable resistance to 
the power of Charles V. the essential service he gave 
to the Protestant cause, and the dissimulation and 
duplicity, with which he accomplished his designs, 
llavini; (irst espoused the cause of Luther, he became 
active in the councils of the Protestant princes; hut 
suddenly changed his course, and entered into the 
measures of the emperor, for suppressing the refor- 
mation. This new coalition, he supported with a 
higii hand, and, after the fall of the elector of Sax- 
ony, succeeded to that j)rincipality ; at the same time, 
takin-: the most active and etfcciual measures to ruin 
the Protestant cau^e, which now to all appearance 
became desperate. 

After having gone such lengths, as to gain the en- 
tire contidence of the c mp<'ic.r, he again suiidt nly 
shifted his course, and by a public manifesto declared 
himself the friend of tlie reformation, the avenger of 
the injured princes whom Charles had stri|)pcd of 
their (lominions. and the supporter of the ancient 
Germanic constitution. At the same lime, march- 
ing with a powerful army toward Au>lria, he endeav- 
ored to surprise the cniperor, as he lay at Inspruck 
with but a small force, Charles made his escape 
,over the Alps, almost unattended. The night was 
dark and rain}, and the fugitive monarch was obliged 
23 



34 GERMANY. 

to ride in a litter, being at that time afflicted with 
the gout. 

We must refer the reader to the histories of Ger- 
many for a detail of those events, which compelled 
the em[)eror to abandon all his ambitious projects. 
He found, notwithstanding his great resources, that 
so far from governing Europe, he could not even gov- 
ern Germany according to his desire. A short time 
after this, therefore, at the celebrated peace of Passau, 
Charles fullj recognized the claims of the Protes- 
tants^; allowing them the free exercise of their reli- 
gion according to the confession of Augsburgh; and 
the government of Germany recovered the state in 
^vhich it was before the aggress,ions of Charles V. 
But the most huml^ling stroke, which he received 
from (iermany, ^^'as the refusal of the electoral col- 
lege to secure to his son Pliilip the imperial crown ; 
"wiiich being given to his brotiier Ferdinand, the eyes 
of thr;t powerful and ambitious prince were fully 
opened, and he saw the object with which he had 
long flattered himself, of a n)ighty and glorious em- 
pire in his own line now vanish away as a vain illu- 
sion, or an empty dream. An empire like those of 
Cyrus, Alexander, and Cesar, cannot be founded by 
the force of civil policy. It must be the offspring 
of war and conquest. As a statesman Charles was 
great : but among his rivals and enemies, he found 
nearly his match. Henry \'IIi. Leo X. Francis I. 
and Solyman the Magnificent, were, at least some ot 
them, not much his inferiors. But IMaurice, a man 
who rose u[>, as it were under his shadow, was far 
his superior in .whatever relates to an accompli^hed 
statesman. The writer of the History of Modern Eu- 
rope makes no hesitation to assert, that '* perhaps no 
prince, ancient or modern, ever discovered such deep 
political sagacity also early a period of life:" nor 
indeed are there any known reasons for preferring 
his political to his military talents. 

]\laurioe. having eirectually humbled Charles, re- 
stored the Germanic const ilution, and confirmed the 



GERMANY. 



35 



reli"-ious liberties of Germany, seemed to bid fair to 
become one of the greatest actors in the great drama 
of modern Europe ; but in gaining a victory over Al- 
bert of Brandenburg, who had for some time infested 
the neighboring countries with depredations, he lost 
his life, in the thirty-second year of his age. 

Divine Providence when it determined to establish 
the reformation in Germany, saw fit to preserve the 
life of Luther in the midst of his enemies and sur- 
rounded with dangers. But it is remarkable, that 
three of the most ilh-.strious defenders of Protestant- 
ism, were cut olF in the flower of youth, in the com- 
mr^K-ement of Iheir career, and when they seemed 
aide to accomplish the most important and salutary 
changes ; IVlaurice, of Saxony, Gustavus Adolphus of 
Swcicn, and Itenry IV. of France. 

Charles V. governed the most extensive empire 
known in history, it comprehended Germany, the 
Neth' rlan^ls, Spain, Italy, and territories in America 
larger than all Europe. Had he been as prone to 
war, as some men have been, it would seem as though 
his empire might have been universal. Charles, 
however, in the fiftv-sixth year of his age, astonished 
Europe, hy the resignation' of all his extensive domin- 
ions. Great as they were, he probably renounced 
them in disgust because he could not make them 
greater, indeed the first rivals of his glory were no 
more. Henry and Francis, his youthful competitors, 
were gone from the stage of action; his favorite 
schemes were defeated and forever abandoned ; and 
we may conjecture, that he sickened at the unsub- 
stantial enjoyment of power and dominion. He re- 
tired to the monastery of St. Justus in the province 
of Estramadura in Spain, where he spent two or three 
of his last years in^philosophical speculations, literary 
pursuits, rural amusements, and religious devotions. 
But no force of resignation, nor form of reasoning 
could reconcile him to so great a change : and the 
retrospect whether of scenes of grandeur or of guilt, 



3G GERMANY. 

whether of fallacious hopes or blusted ambition, prov- 
ed a canker to all his enjoynnents, covered him with 
melancholy, and hastened the decay of his health. 
He died in the fifty-ninth year of his age, exhibiting 
a striking proof of the vanity of human ambition. 

During the reign of Charles V. tlie German em- 
pire seemed to be at its utmost point of elevation, and 
was able to preserve a lofty and menacing attitude 
toward the neighboring powers; so that even the 
greatest of all the Tuikish monarchs was willing to 
retire at the approach of Charles V. rather than to en- 
dure a conflict with that powerful prince; as already 
noticed. 

Perhaps no nation, for the space of twenty centu- 
ries, ever produced more good soldiers, or underwent 
more hard fighting than the Gt^rmans. And although 
the imperial dignity of Germany has been regarded, 
as the first in Europe ; yet the essential defects, inter- 
woven in the frame and constitution of the Germanic 
body, have rendered it weak, and liable to decay and 
dissolution. Since the reign of Charles V. its impor- 
tance among the belligerent powers of Europe, has, 
for the most pait, experienced a gradual decline. 

A vacancy in the imperial throne is supplied by an 
electoral college, consisting of nine electors, viz. the 
Archbishop of Mentz, the Archbishop of Triers, the 
Archbishop of Cologne, the Elector of Bohemia, the 
Elector of Saxony, the Elector of Brandenburgh, the 
Elector of Palatine, and the Elector of Hanover. 
But we can say little more of the Germanic body, in 
this place, than that it consists of about 300 petty 
princes, who are almost independent in their own do- 
minions. Many of those princes are proud, poor and 
oppressive; and their subjects are servile, stupid and 
submissive. The German empire is a vast unwieldy 
body, more kept together by the pressure of external 
causes, than by any internal principle of union. 

Germany has produced vast numbers of learned 
and ingenious men. In useful discoveries and inven- 



SPAIN. 37 

tions, their plodding and apparently heavy genius, 
has perhaps excelled that of every other nation in 
the world. But it is ardently to be wished, that the 
Germans had a better government, and more virtue. 
It is evident, that essential deficiencies in these im- 
portant respects, have long been undermining their 
tottering fabric, and have at last brought them to the 
brink of ruin. 



SPAIN. ^ 

OF the history of Spain, very little notice has been / 
taken in any part of this compend. When the Ro- 
man empire fell in pieces, the Spaniards were left to 
struggle with their own vices and depravity; and a| 
hard struggle it was. Neither its history nor geog-| 
raphy is vcvy well known, even to the present day.' 
The Gothic and Saracen invasions both essentially 
affected Spain : but the affairs of bpain were very 
little connected wilii those of Europe, in general, 
till a little before the reign of Charles V . That 
powerful monarch, inheriting Spain in the right of 
his mother, and Germany in that of his grandfather, 
long meditated the ambitious project of universal em- 
pire^: but Providence had seated on the thrones of 
the other European powers, princes capable of pene- 
trating and batifling all his designs. 

Charles V, after having for many years involved all 
l']urope in war, finding his ambition likely to fail of 
its ultimate object, abdicated his dominions to his son 
Philip II. who succeeded him in the government of 
Spain and the Low Countries. IMiilip was a j^loomy A 
bigot, more fit for a mendicant, than a legislator, or » 
for a monk, than a monarch; but he entered on liis 
public career, with greater resources, than any other 
moparch of modern times. I'o render his reign il- 
lustrious, therefore, by some grand exploit, he deter- 
mined on the project of conquering Great Britain ; a 
23* 



38 6rAi^4 

project which has often orii^inatcd on the continent. 
To this nneasure, he was impelled by two motives; 
tirst, that he mij^ht establish his own power and fame 
as a conqueror; and, secondly, that, in the name of 
the holy church, he mi^ht take venceance on an 
apostate, heretical, and reprobate nation, who, since 
the time of Henry YIll. had rebelled against the see 
of Rome. 

Philip, having determined on this important enter- 
prise, made the most active and powerful exertions. 
The ports of Kurope, from the mouth of the Elbe to 
the Straits of Gibraltar, resounded with naval pre- 
parations ; and at length a tleet was put to sea, pom- 
pously styled the invincible armada^ of size almost suf- 
jicient to shade the British Channel, This armada 
carried not only a threat army% thou2;ht sufficient to 
carry off England by handluls, but a multitude of 
priests, holy fathers, confessors, and inquisitors; to- 
gether with a court of inquisition complete, with all 
sorts of eniiines and instruments of torture belonging 
to that hellish tribunal. ^Vith these, they intended 
to enter uj)<)n the conversion of such of the English 
people, as should escape the sword. 

As the armada approached, they were met by the 
English fleet, commanded by Admiral Lord Howard 
and Sir Francis Drake ; and the Spanish ships to the 
amount of n(^arly one hundred sail, were burnt, sunk, 
or taken. The remnant were dis[)ersed and lost in a 
tempest ; a few of them in attempting to make their 
escape round the north of Scotland, were picked up, 
one by one. or wrecked on the shoals of the Orkney 
©r Hebride islands. 

Exceptinjr this celebrated expedition, Philip 11, did 
little durinj]^ his inglorious reigfi, but murder and tor- 
ment the IVotestants in t!ic Low Countries. Those 
provinces at length revolted from him, erected the 
standard of lib(Tty, and, after a long and bloody war, 
gained their freedom and independence ; which they 
maintained with dignity and honor. For nearly a 



SPAIN. 39 

century, they disputed the empire of the sea with 
Britain. But they no longer exist as a free people. 
They are forever swallowed up in the vortex of the 
French revolution. 

Whatever shadow of liberty existed in Spain, was 
obliterated by Charles V. and Philip II. ; and their suc- 
cessors, though amonj; the leebh'st of princes, reigned 
and tyrannized at pleasure. When by the policy of 
Louis Xiy. the crown of Spain was transferred to the 
house of B«.'urbon, it served rather to diminish, than 
to increase, the importance of the Spanish monarehy. 
Since France has become a republic, under the mild 
administration of Napoleon, ^pain scarcely dares to 
assume the style or attitude of independente ; hut is 
submissively waitinii to receive the fraternal embi ace, 
which shall forever unite her to the great nation. 

The geographer will perceive I*ortugal on the map i 
of Europe ; and tlie historian will tind, that it was 
once of some consequence as an independent state. 
Its present insignificarice, however, and its general 
dependence on its more powerful neighbors, render 
it not worth our wliiU; to notice its histoiy, in this 
very cursory survey of nations. 

The reader will indulge us in a few reflections on 
the history of Spain, before we quit the subject. It 
is allowed by all g('«>graj)hers, that Spain possesses a 
most delightful cliojate and productive soil. ^' No 
nation," says Guthrie, " owes so much to nature, 
and so little to industiy and art, for their subsistence, 
as Spain." 'i hey have scarce any winter. Their 
summers are long and delightful. Thdr lands pro- 
duce, and almost spontaneously, all the substantial, 
as well as the luxuiies of life. Nature seems to 
have designed it, as one of the most charming coun- 
tries in the world. It is (tf groat extent, and is sur- 
rounded by the noblest oceans and seas — has excel- 
lent harbors, and possesses, both iiUernally and ex- 
ternally, every natural advantage which a nation 
could wish. 



40 SPAIN. 

J But what is Spain at this day ? what are its inhab- 
,'itants, its government, and its character. Its popula- 
tion is thin ; its inliabitants, if we may rely on the testi- 
iinony of travehers, are a poor, lazy, idle, dirty, igno- 
' rant race of almost semi-savages. Their government, 
though despotic, is weak ; and their name and char- 
acter, as a nation, are contemptible. 

This degraded state of the nation, may be princi- 
pally attributed to the gold and silver extorted from 
the mines of Mexico and Peru.* By an abundance 
of those precious metals, these people were aggran- 
dized, corruj)ted, inebriated and undone. When thcj 
conquered Mexico and Peru, and it was di»sCovered, 
that the bowels of the earth contained such inex- 
haustible treasures, they thought no object worthy of 
their pui'suit but gold and silver, and of consequence, 
soon became dependent on their neighbors for every 
article of commerce. With these, they rewarded and 
enriched the industrious nations around them, and 
became themselves poor, proud and dependent. 

By the same means, the Spanish colonies in South 
America were ruined. In imitation of their mother 
country, they despised every pursuit but that of dig- 
ging up the shining ore. They despised agriculture ; 
they neglected commerce ; they disregarded every 
art and iivcry science, but that of getting the precious 
metals. And what are they now ? J'hey are Span- 
iards, Indians, and mcingrels. They may revolt from 
Spain a thousand times; yet if tliey do not revolt 
from her eharneter and conduct, and alter their own, 
it will do nothini: for them. Mirandas may revolu- 
tionize th^n) ; for if they become not a laborious, in- 
dustrious, agricultural, commercial people, they will 
only l>e transmuted from bad to worse : it will avail 
them nothiui,'. 

Ifow dijferent from their conduct was that of the 
^British colonies, now the United States ! They had 

* Had the Spanish been en]i<::h(ened Protestants, there is no 
reason io t)elieve, that the effects of gold upon them would have 
been so dreadful. — Ed. 



TRANCE. 41 

no mines of silver and g^old. They had before them 
the boundless forests of an uncultivated continent, and 
beneath their feet, a productive soil, which they en- 
countered with persevering industry. The forests 
melted away; the lands were cultivated ; the people 
became numerous, prosperous, and powerful ; and, in 
less than two centuries, the country has become the 
most flourishing and happy of any in the universe. 

Spain has had the advantage of very few men of 
uncommon learning or genius. The revival of litera- 
ture was less beneficial to her, than to any other na- 
tion in Europe. She can boast, indeed, of a Tostatiis, 
said to be the most vohmiinous theological writer that 
evrr wrote; but his writings, it is also said, are re- 
markable for nothing but their bulk ; and are shown 
as a prodigy, consisting, if we mistake not, of above 
fifty volumes in folio. Crushc^i beneath the double 
tyranny of kings and priests, i.ic arts and sciences 
could never flourish in Spain. There the gloomy 
reign of superstition is seen at full length; and with- 
out any check, has displayed all its horrors. As to 
the people of S[)ain. it is of little consequence how- 
soon they change masters. Their condition cannot 
well be worse; nor indeed, is it likely to be made 
better. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CONTINUATION OF THE VIEW OF EUROPE, SINCE THE COM- 
MENCEMENT OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 

FKAAXE. 

TO every Englishman, and to every American, the 
liistory of France, next to that of England, is by far, 
the most important of any I'uropean history. The 
French, for many ages, have bom a br ivc pdite and 
scientiiic people. Since the tiinCs of Charlemagne, 



^1 
42 FRANCE. 

and especially since the reign of Francis I. the power 
of France, its central situation and profound policy, 
have given it, an extensive connexion with all the 
principal concerns of Europe. 

For the long period between the ninth and six- 
teenth centuries, the fortunes of France, like those of 
the rest of Europe, were fluctuating and unsteady. At 
each return of prosperity, however, they rose higher 
on the general scale, and gained a more commanding 
situation. In the first part of the 15th century, 
jHenry V. of England, conquered France, and receiv- 
ed, in Paris, the fealty of the French nobility, and 
the crown of France seemed apparently confirmed to 
him and his posterity. But, Henry dying in the 34th 
year of his age, the valor of (he celebrated maid of 
Orleans resti^red the drooping afTairs of France, set- 
tled the crown firmly on the head of Charles VII. 
and within ten years from her being a British province, 
she was again independent, more powerful than she 
had e\er been, and nearly able to conquer Britain, 
then governed by Henry VI. the feeblest and most 
miserable of all the English monarchs. 

In virtue of that conquest by Henry V. the kings 
pf England have since pompously styled themselves 
kini£S of Great Britain, France, and Ireland."*? 

Francis I. though one of the most accorhplished 
princes of his time, spent a long reign in planning 
schemes of ambition, which proved abortive — in wars 
generally unsuccessful, and in artful and tedious ne- 
gociations, at which he was a match for any of his 
cotcmporaries. Disappointed in his hopes of being 
elected emperor of Germany, his whole life was a 
scene of rivalship with Charles V. the successful 
candidate for that high dignity. The slow and sul- 
len temper of Charles, his cool and profound thought, 
and his firm and even courage, always gave him the 
advantage of Francis, when in projecting there was 

* The British kinq; is now styled, " King o( Great Britain and 
Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and so fortlj.'''— Ed, 



FRANCE, 43 

danger from the undue influence of passion, or when 
in action there was danger from temerity. 

In the course of their contentions, which were 
perpetually embittered by personal animosity, and 
which could only end with life, Francis unfortunately 
became Charles' prisoner. An advantage so great 
and decided as this, would for ever have ruined 
almost any prince but Francis. In the true spirit 
and character of a Frenchman, Francis bore this ca- 
lamity with a more equal mind, than most men bear 
prosperity ; and he soon gained his freedom. By an 
address, which (ew monarchs ever possessed in a 
greater degree than himself, he wound his tortuous 
course out of a labyiinth of difficulties, and found 
himself able once more to look his powerful rival in 
the face. 

It is an uncommon case, that Francis, notwith- 
standing his numerous misfortunes and the failure of 
most of his favorite schemes, left his kingdom at his 
death far more powerful, prosperous, and respectable, 
than he found it. It was his lotto contend with very 
potent enemies ; but Francis was a most accomplish- 
ed prince. Such was the benevolence, the amiable- 
ness, the urbanity of his mind and character, that his 
courtiers loved him as a brother; and his subjects in 
general, revered and respected him as a father. His 
more powerful rivals merited far less of their subjects, 
and enjoyed their affections far less, than he did. It 
is the remark of an excellent historian, that the repu- 
tation and fame of Francis have risen in proportion, 
as those who came after him had oppoitiiuity to 
perceive, the permanent benefits his administration 
conferred on his people. 

It will be impossible to speak distinctly of the 
kings of France ; it being the design of this brief sur- 
vey, merely to convey to tjje young reader a general 
idea of the rise, progress, and character of nations. 
Tiiere is one event, however, in the succeeding reign, 
which renders it proper to call up the successor of 
Francis to view. 



44 PRANCE. 

Francis I. was succeeded by bis son Henry 11. 
\vbo was a prince not unworthy of the character of 
his illustrious father. His wars with Germany, were 
generally more successful than those of his predeces- 
sor, whose hostile temper towards that neighboring 
power he had largely imbibed. This prince took 
Calais from the English ; since which time they have 
had no footing in France. He was killed at a tour- 
nament by count Montgomery, A. D. 1659. 

The history of France, from this period till the 
reijjn of Lewis XIV. commonly called the Avauslan 
age of France, opens an ardent and interestini^: sc.Mie, 
of policy, chicanery, the caprice of tortune, crti Ity 
and bravery, with some virtue. Several great fami- 
lies and illustrious characters rose into {)ul)lic vi<w« 
The houses of Guise, Conde, and B< urbon, beca.ne 
celebrated through Europe; and by their intrigues 
and conspiracies, influenced not only the FrcMjch 
government, but shook its throne, and governed the 
politics of Europe. The l^roteslant religion hid 
made great progress in France, and being espoused 
by many very powerful m«^n, persecutions terminated 
in civil wars, and in some of the mo^t horrid scenes 
of blood and cruelty recorded in liistory.. The hor- 
rors of the massacre of St. Bartholomew's dav, in 
1572, exceeds all the powers of description. Thirty 
thousand {)ersons perish(Ml in one night, in Paris, and 
other parts of France; among whom fell the famous 
admiral Coliirni. This was during the niinority of 
the bloody Charles IX. 

The Protestants were led bv the prince of Conde, 
and the Catholic>, by the duke of Guise, two of the 
most celebrated j)ersona£^es, as well as able com- 
manders of their time. Rivers of blood were she/l, 
and all the resources of a great and numerous people 
were exhausted in varIou.•^ struggles; while it still 
sec'iied doubtful whethei the scale wculd turn in fa- 
vor of Protestantism or <;f Rome. Murders, assassi- 
nation?, massacres, and plots of every kind filled every 



FRANCE. 45 

corner of France with terror; the hlackest atrocities 
incrimsoned the whole nation with guilt, and rendered 
it ".a land of blood." The German princes, the pope, 
the kings of Spain and England were active, by their 
emissaries, in this scene of horror, and abetted each 
party, as interest or inclination prompted. 

In the midst of these commotions the celebrated 

\ (Henr;^ IV* ascended the throne of France. He 
gained that lofty eminence, iby making his way 

i through numberless im pediments. _ Among many ex- 
pedients, he resorted to one wKich the politician may 
justify, but which the impartial narrator of truth can- 
not mention without disapprobation. He abjured the 
Protestant, and embraced the Catholic religion^ as 
the only step which could advance him to the throne ; 
in which feint, he seems to have followed the exam- 
ple of the celebrated Maurice, and he resen»bled him 
no less in his untimel} death. This was regarded as 
a pious fraud, since it is generally believed that he 
.never altered his sentiments concerning religion; 
and that he still determined, as soon as opportunity 
should present, to favor and establish the Protestant 
cause. But Providence seems to have dete? mined, 
that this unh.appy country, so deeply polluted by the 
blood of innocence, should never be puiged but by 
the blood of the guilty.* 

As of the illustrious Henry V. of Ens:land, so of 
Henry IV. of France, we can only conjecture what 
would have been the result of a long reign, by the 
brilliant exploits which he performed in a Aciy short 
one — by the amazing energy ^^ hich he n»ai'ifesteti — 
by the comprehensive views — by the amiiibleness, 
the elevation, and grandeur of mind lie displayed, in 
so short a career. 

Henry applied himself \\\{h wonderful address to 
the affairs of government, and especially to meliorate 
the condition of his subjects. In these important and 
benevolent pursuits, he was aided by the ceiebiated 

* Rev. XV. 5, 6. 
24 



46 TRANCE. 

duke of Sully, the ablest statesman of his time. In 
1598, he published the famous edict of Nantz, which 
fijave free liberty of conscience to the Protestants, and 
allowed them in the public exercise of their religion. 
He encouraged, or rather founded, the silk manufac- 
tories in France. 

This illustrious prince was assassinated in his 
chariot, in the streets of Paris, in 1610, by a wretch- 
ed cntljusiast, whose name should never have polluted 
the page of history. 

The son and successor of Henry IV. was Lewis 
XI II. He, by the aid of the powerful and ambitious 
Richlieu, crushed, at once, the nascent liberties of 
France. He violated the rights of conscience, de- 
prived the Protestants of every privilege, and put a 
period to the religious struggles, which had subsisted 
for nearly a century, and had destroyed above a mil- 
lion of men. 

During Richlieu's administration, the famous Pro- 
testant league was formed among the Northern Pow- 
ers ; at the head of which was the great Gustavus 
Adolphus, king of Sweden. This formidable combi- 
nation in favor of Protestantism, and which sevei^ly 
shook the German throne, originated in the profound 
policy of Richlieu, the very man who had persecuted 
and destroyed that cause in France. 

The reign of Lewis XI II. prepared France for the 
Augustus of modern times. He died in 1G43, and 
left as his successor, his son, the celebrated Lewis 
XIV. then in his minority. The kingdom was dis- 
turbed and torn by tactions and intestine broils. The 
Protestants gathering strength on the death of Rich- 
lieu and Lewis, were headed by a Prince of Conde,. 
far more celebrated than the former ; and the Catho- 
lics were led by the truly famous marshal Turenne. 
The mother of the young king assumed the adminis- 
tration, and, by the policy of Cordinal Mazarine, not 
only governed France, but was able to manoeuvre the 
diplomatic corps of every court in Europe# 



FRANCE. 47 

The affairs of the French government had been 
conducted with such consummate skill, that Lewis 
XIV. when he assumed the reins, found himself one 
of the most absolute monarchs in the world. Early 
in his reign, he had the discernment and good for- 
tune to appoint, as his first minister, the great Colbert, 
as he is very justly styled. 

The glory of France has been essentially owing 
to the abilities and virtue of a series of great men^ 
who sat at the helm of administration. In this 
respect it is probable, that no other nation was ever 
so fortunate as France. For more than a century, 
without any cessation, the reins of government were 
bolden with strength, stability, dignity, and wisdom. 
They were bolden by men of the greatest genius, the 
most extensive views, the clearest foresight, and 
greatest regularity of system ; in short, by men of the 
utmost grandeur and elevation of mind, always acting 
in reference to the sublimest views of national pros- 
perity and greatness. Such were Sully, llichlicu. 
Mazarine, Colbert, and some others. These things, 
however, cannot be said of them all, without some 
qualification. Though aiming, and that successfully, 
at national aggrandizement, yet some of tlieir mea- 
sures were dictated by a degree of cruelly, pride, and 
injustice, which cast a mournful shade over the pros- 
pect — otherwise splendid and noble, almost beyond 
mortal perfection. 

Lewis XI y. aided by such powerful men, enjoyed 
a long, glorious, and important reign j to write the 
history of which, would be, in effect, to write the 
history of Europe, during that period.* The diplo- 
matic science, if so it may be called, begun by his 
predecessors, he carried on with a much higher 
hand, and probably perfected. He found means to 
fill all the courts of Europe w^th penetrating eyes, 
listening ears, skilful hands, and nimble feet. He 
plotted, negotiated, intrigued, deceived, and cajoled. 

* See Voltaire's Age of Lewis XIV, 



48 FRANCE. 

Men who were corruptible, he bribed ; and even 
boi]G:ht all surh as were worth his money. 

His abundant success in managing the concerns of 
England, can scarcely be read without laughter, or, 
at any rate, without admiration. England, at that 
time, just landed from a disastrous voyage on "tlic 
tempestuous sea of liiicrty," was governed by the 
second Charles, a prince who cared for nothing but 
his pleasures and debaucheries. If Lewis found him 
rather an expensive retainer, he also found tjie un- 
erring clue to manage him and his people. Money, 
disposed of with diplomatic skill, did the work. And 
it is almost incredible, that, in spite of all the virtue 
of England, Lewis did actually govern both parties 
then existing. lie held them both in his hand at 
once, and unsuspected by them, penetrated the coun- 
sels, gained the confidence, and dictated the measures 
of both. Both whig and tory were his tools; and 
while he urged on the tyranny of the court, and in- 
flamed the lawless ambition of king Charles, he blew 
up the living coals of patiiotic hre, and organized a 
most extensive conspiracy, called the rye-house plot; 
in the bosom of which, he formed a still deeper plot, 
to assassinate the king, and revolutionize the govern- 
ment. 

into these dangerous and daring schemes, he drew 
many of the noblest lords of England, and still more 
of the virfiious commons, who were ready to sell their 
lives to save their country; but who, through an 
unlucky mistake, sold their consciences for filthy 
lucre. Lewis played the same game in several other 
courts of Europe, and particularly in Sweden, whose 
tail may be ascribed to French seduction. 

T'ue elevation of France, in this splendid reign, was 
not more conspicuous in her foreign relations, than 
in her internal circumstances. Lewis encouraged 
the arts and sciences ; patronized men of learning ; 
and his reign was adorned by several men, whose 
panties are highly respectable in the republic of letters. 



FRANCE. 4^' 

Ambition was the most conspicuous trait in the 
character of Lewis. But his reign was marked with 
various circumstances of injustice, cruelty and im- 
policy. The most notorious of these, was the revo- 
cation of the edict of Nantz, in 1685, passed eighty- 
seven years before, by his illustrious grandfather, 
Henry IV. This was little better than a law for ex- 
terminating the Protestants. They fled from his do- 
minions in such multitudes, as to leave many places 
without inhabitants. They carried with them, into 
other countries, and especially into England, the arts 
and sciences. He lost his ablest artizans and me- 
chanics ; and from that time and that cause, England 
gained the ascendancy over France, as a manufacture 
ing people. 

But the latter part of the life of Lewis XIV. as of 
Charles V. was as unhappy, as the first part of it was 
prosperous. His greatness could not raise him above 
adversity. For ten years he experienced the bitter- 
est reverses of fortune. The powers of Europe, 
alarmed at his overgrown greatness, and exasperated 
by his pride and insolence, formed a combination 
against him. Two men appeared in the field, who 
were able to humble his vanity, and rescue Europe 
from his oppression. The Austrian armies were 
commanded by prince Eugene, and the English, by 
the duke of Marlborough, one of the most celebrated 
commanders of modern times, and thought, by-some, 
never to have been excelled in any age or nation. 
Marlborough and Eugene defeated and cut in pieces 
whatever forces Lewis sent into the field ; they took 
from him most of his conquests ; they entered his do- 
minions with their victorious armies, and spread a ter- 
ror and consternation not much inferior to that of 
Henry V. In short, (hey shook the foundations of his 
throne, and not oidy humbled the haughty tyrant, but 
made him tremble for his crown and empire. 

This desolating war was closed at the peace of 
Utrecht in 1713; and France, by the preposterous 
24* 



di> FRANCE. 

policy of the British ministry, was saved from a vic- 
torious arm, which seemed able to have recovered 
and re-established the claims of Henry V. and to have 
given law to the great nation. Two years after the 
peace of Utrecht, on the lirst of September, 1715, 
Lewis Xiy. expired, after having experienced the 
vicissitudes of fortune, and exhibited an example of 
this truth, that no mortal, however exalted, is beyond 
the reach of the shafts of alBiction and adversity. 
Lewis might have said with his brother Charles Y. 
that " Fortune, like other females, loves to confer 
her favors upon young men»" 

The ancient monarchy of France, especially during 
the feudal system, was extremely limited. The spirit 
of freedom and independence which prevailed in 
Europe, was no where more visible, than in France. 
The people held various important and powerful 
checks upon the crown. But these, for want of a 
proper balance and distribution of powers, wore grad- 
ually away, and the royal prei'ogative prevailed 
against justice and .inalienable right. Yet still the 
flame of liberty would, at times, break forth and burn 
with great strength, till it was wasted by its own im- 
petuosity, or extinguished by the regular advances of 
despotic power. Next to the reign of Augustus, that 
of Lewis XIY. was most successful in quelling, silenc- 
ing, and utterly destroying all notions of civil liberty, 
and of equal rights. The French people were se- 
verely taught to tremble at the power and resentment 
of Lewis ; they were fascinated by his artful, winning, 
and insidious wiles ; they were astonished and won 
over by his munificence ; they were dazzled by his 
glory ; and they were made to believe, that to '' bask 
in the meridian blaze" of so splendid a monarchy, 
was their highest happiness. 

The reign of Lewis XV, was distinguished by few 
events worthy of particular notice in this brief sur- 
vey. Ambitious without abilities, and proud without 
energy, his life wasted away in the fading splendors 



PRANCE. 51 

of a court, so lately illuminated by a monarch of su- 
pt^rior powers. > During this reign, the principal ob- 
jects, which ^^i^ll engage the attention oi the reader 
of history, will he the cai)ture of the island of Corsica ; 
the suppression of the Jesuits in France ; the causes 
of the gradual decline of the power and impor- 
tance of F'rance among the powers of Europe. But 
for the investigation of these subjects, the reader must 
be referred to other histories of France. 

On the 10th of May, 1774, the unfortunate Lewis 
XVI. ascended the throne. We have now arrived 
at a period, in which our readers are acquainted with 
I many more incidents, than can have a place in this 
work. We shall close on this article by stating a 
very few things, which are most commonly known, 
concerning one of the most important, most eventful 
revolutions recoided in the annals of time; a revolu' 
tion which derives importance to us, on account of 
our commercial and political relations; and especially 
by reason of its very recent date, and the vast conse- 
quences likely to flow from it. 

It has been generally thought, that France never 
enjoyed a more amiable, a more virtuously disposed 
monarch, than Lewis XV]. His misfortune from 
nature, if that can be called a misfortune, in which 
both kings and people are so generally involved, was 
the want of those extraordinary powers of mind, 
which arc always useful, and, on certain emergencies, 
indispensable in kings. It is doubtful, whether, if he 
had possessed the mental powers of some of his pre- 
decessors, he would not have suppressed the revolu- 
tionizing spirit, and preserved the tranquility of his 
dominions. So far from doing that, when the storm 
arose, the weaknesses he betrayed, increased the 
tumult, drew destruction upon himself, and the guilt 
of innocent blood upon his country. 

We often contemplate with horror the excessive 
sufferings of mankind through the tyranny and op- 
pression of their rulers. We as often wonder that 



52.' PRANCE. 

any rational being, endowed with passions, and at all 
capable of self-defence or of revenge, will endure 
what so large a proportion of mankind endure from 
their fellowcrcatures who govern them. They are 
insulted, degraded, and trampled in the dust. Their 
rights are torn from them — they are deprived of 
every enjoyment. The scanty earnings of their 
painful lab(<rs must be cheerfully given up, to pamper 
the luxury of a wanton wretch, before whom they 
must cringe, and bow, and adore. Why will they 
endure all this ? Because, alas ! their case is hopeless. 
Their disease admits no remedy. The experience 
of all ages and nations has confirmed and illustrated 
the truth, that insurrection, revenge, and revolution, 
do but plunge them deeper in misery, and expedite 
their destruction. 

Lewis XIV. as already noted, had extinguished 
every ray of liberty, and even of hope; and his im- 
mediate successor had neither virtue nor abilities to 
remedy the evils of the government, or the suiFerings 
of the people. The clergy, the nobility, and the king, 
were each of them at the head of a separate system of 
tyranny; so that, in addition to the most cruel and 
odious oppression of the clergy, the people were 
crushed by an immense monarchy, and ground to 
powder by a still more formidable aristocracy. Many, 
therefore, took part in the revolution from a just and 
laudable desire to remedy their condition. Having 
little fear of a worse state, they were determined to 
try to obtain a better. A strong remembrance of the 
recent fall and ruin of the Jesuits, taught them how 
easily the most powerful men are overthrown, when 
the multitude are roused and determined to take 
vengeance. 

The restless spirit which predisposes many for 
tumult and commotion, was a powerful mover in the 
revolution. Such love to be in a bustle. The noise 
of an uproar is to them the sweetest music. Even the 
cry of fire gives them a kind of ecstacy, provided 



PRANCE. 53 

their own hovel is not in danger; they love to rush 
with a multitude into enterprise ; and hy how much 
greater is their number, by so much fiercer their en- 
thusiasm flames. Although such men are the scum 
or dregs of society, they are fit tools in a revolution ; 
and seldom would an) great and sudden revolution 
take place without them. Luckily for the revolu- 
tionist, they are found in abundance in all nation?, 
arid especially in France. 

The more enlightened people of France, had no 
hope of erecting a free and virtuous republic upon 
the ruins of monarchy. Their utmost wish extend- 
ed only to a salutary Reform in the government. 
They wished to limit the royal preroijative, and open 
some prospect for the encouragement of industr} and 
laudable enterprise, by giving securit} to property,' 
No people will be industrious, unh^ss they can be 
made secure in the fruits of their labor. The peo- 
ple of France had no security in this respect. A 
large portion of their income must go to replenish 
the royal revenue; another portion must be paid into 
the church-treasury, to augment the enornjous wealth 
of tyrannical, haughty, and vicious clergy. Besides 
all this, every poor man was liable to the exactions of 
his master, land-holder or temporal lord. Each of 
these species of exactions was ordinary or extraordi- 
nary ; when ordinary, they took a great part of a 
man's earnings ; when extraordinary they took all. 
Thus a wretched laborer was often stripped of all he 
had, and then, to complete his misery, dragged to the 
fleeter army, and forced to leave his family to perish 
for want of bread. 

To remedy these monstrously overgrown evils, be- 
nevolent people were willing to set a revolution on 
foot, lending merely to a salutary reform ; but while 
they were carefully nursing the tender infant^ and 
fostering it with gentlest hands, like Hercules, it rose 
formidable from its cradle, and crushed them to death 
by thousands and by millions. In truth, the vail sud- 



64 PRANCE. 

denly dropped from the eyes of the people, and they 
saw, in their full li^jht, the horrors of their condition. 
With one universal, strong, reiterated struggle, they 
attempted to rise, and plunged themselves " ten 
thousand fathom deep,'''' 

rThe prevalence of infidel philosophy, or, as it has 
been styled, illuminism, in France, had a powerful 
influence in bringing about the revolution. Those 
philosophers, with great apparent justice, availed 
themselves of the enormous corruptions of the reli- 
gious orders, and the abuses of Christianity abounding 
in the church ; thev ridiculed the idea of the divine 
right of kings, and artfully laid open the oppressive 
tyranny of civil government. Under a robe, which, 
to the unwary observer, appeared pure and spotless, 
they concealed the most atrocious, vile, and blas- 
phemous sentiments concerning all government, 
both human and divine. They set up human reason 
as the only light ; the only standard of authority ; 
the only deity in the universe. They wished to 
bring mankind into such a perfect state of freedom, 
that all restraint upon their conduct should be laid 
aside, together with all distinction of property. 
They Vvished to abolish, absolutely, all law, to annihi- 
late all obligation, and, in a word, all distinction be- 
tween virtue and vice. 

This dangerous philosophy prevailed in France ; 
and among its disciples were many of the most emi- 
nent literary characters in the kingdom. Indeed, 'it 
pervaded all orders of people ; and men of. this des- 
cription filled the universities, sustained the most im- 
portant offices of state, and were, in great numbers, 
in the court and about the person of the king"^ The 
savor of their doctrines, and the weight of personal 
influence, put in motion, by degrees, innumerable 
wheels and springs of the revolution ; and, when they 
perceived things going according to their wish, they 
were at l»and to project the most dansjerous and daring 
sci^.emes, and to develope the horrid extent of their 
views aud wishes. 



FRANCE. 66 

The armies of France had heen eye-witnesses of the 
success of the American revokition. They had seen 
a ghmpse of the independence, freedom, and happi- 
ness of the United States ; and had imbibed a poition 
of the same heroic, invincible spirit, which animated 
the fathers of our happy country. Glowing with sym- 
pathy and delight, Ihey carried the borrowed flame 
across the Atlantic. They painted, in lively colors, 
to their countrymen, the pleasing scenes they had 
witnessed ; and thej affected, most powerfully, the 
imaginations of that gay and volatile people, with 
dreams of fancied bliss. They said to themselves, 
" Shall the Americans alone be free ? and must 
Frenchmen forever groan with painful servitude ?" 
Each peasant became a politician ; and freedom was 
all his theme. Liberty inspired the speculations of 
the philosopher and the maxims and dogmas of the 
sage. It resounded in the ditties of the milk-maid 
and plongh-boy, and enlivcntd the songs of the shep- 
herd and shepherdess. Unhappy people ! Would to 
heaven you might have gained and long enjoyed, that 
rational freedom, which you saw at a distance, but 
could never realize ! In a word, the wild enthusiasm 
seized the lower orders ; it ascended to the higher 
ranks of people, and surrounded and overturned the 
throne. Its progress was like that of fire, and its 
devastations like those of the destroying angel. 

Multitudes of men pushed iorwaid the revolution, 
actuated only by the base and selfish consideration, 
that a popular form of government gives power and 
I consequence to much the greatest number of men ; 
and of course, gives greater hopes of rising to each 
individual. They view republicanism as a lottery, 
I more favorable to their ambitious hopes, than mon- 
archy. Such wretched patriots are the cuise, the 
plague, the torment, and, indeed, the final ruin and 
; eternal disgrace of all republics. At first, they can- 
not be distinguished from the virtuous and lionest 
man, who truly loves his country. They bring, of 



56 FRANCE. 

course, all honest men into suspirion. They use the 
language and put on the gjarl) of virtue. They cover 
their designs so deeply with hypocrisy and lies, that 
they are often not unveiled but by their fatal and 
deadly mischief. Men of this cnst, are far more use- 
ful in pulling down than in building up states and 
Sfovernments. Any incendiary can burn a palace ; 
but a skilful artist alone can buil;l one. The revolu- 
tionist seldom considers, that if he pulls down his 
government, and has not strength arid skill to build 
another, he must either inevitably perish in anarchy, 
or must set some master-workman to building for 
him ; and that the fabricator of the new government 
becomes his new master, and often proves a ijrealer 
tyrant than the former. It is a just remark, that the 
most despotic governments are generally the offspring 
of great revolutions. Thus, a revolution in Syracuse 
raised up Dionj^sius ; the downfall of Pi^istratus, in 
Athens, produced Pericles; a revolt from Rehobnam, 
in Israel, raised up Jeroboam ; the destruction of 
Julius Cesar elevated Augustus; Charles 11. sprang 
out of Cromwell's revolution ; and, the revolution in 
France, which has indeed overturned the throne of 
Clovis, has produced a new one for the conqueror of 
Europe. 

The general character of the moral and political 
writings, which prevailed in the latter part of the 
seventeenth and former part of the eighteenth cen- 
turies, especially in England and France, had a pow- 
erful influence in the great events, which have 
changed the face of Europe. But we shall close this 
article for the present, and reserve the nature and 
effects of this important revolution, to be considered, 
when, in a subsequent chapter, we shall speak of the 
present state of Europe. 



NORTHERN POWERS. 57 



CHAPTER VII. 

CONTINUATION OF THE VIEW OF EUROrEi 
NORTHERN POWERS. 

THE northern powers, viz.^enmark, Sweden, and 
Russia,} may be considered under one head, as it re- 
lates to several essential articles of their general his- 
tory. They make no figure in ancient history, and 
very little in modern, till since the beginning of the 
sixteenth century. The Danes, indeed, under Canute 
the Great, after frequently invading, conquered Eng- 
land in the eleventh century, and established a new 
dynasty. This was overthrown by William the Con- 
queror; and the Danes make no apuearance worthy 
of notice/till the fourteenth century! when, in 1397, 
\!\Iargaret|by the peace of Calmar, was acknowledged 
queen|of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.^ The great 
abilities, with which she acquired and governed this 
immense dominion, gained her the title of the Semi- 
ramis of the North. 

The political importance of Denmark has been 
gradually diminishing for several centuries. It has 
generally performed the office of satellite to some of 
the chief luminaries of Europe; and its history will 
be found to afford little to profit or to please. 

The extremely imperfect view we ha^e given of 
the North of Europe, renders it necessary, that we 
enlarge a little, in this place, to present to the reader 
a more general sketch of the history of Denmark and 
Sweden. And as we cannot delineate, at full length, 
even a skeleton of modern nations, we have judged it 
most useful to touch upon such parts of the histories 
of these nations, as are in themselves most important. 
When we turn our eyes toward the North of Eu- 
rope, we have before us, to use the elegant express ion 
of Dr. Robertson, "^the storehouse of nations,* and 
25 



58 NORTHERN POWERS. 

as it has been often called, the " northern hive." 
The countries beyond the Rhine, extending north- 
wardly along the shores of the Atlantic to the Scag- 
gerac sea, indeed, from the Adriatic to the Baltic, 
were anciently denominated German}^ ; and those 
countries in the early times of modern Europe were 
regarded as appendages of the German empire. The 
people of those countries, though extremely fierce and 
warlike, were of a grade of intellect far aboYe mere 
savages. The Romans in the height of their power, 
found them formidable enemies; and they were, at 
length, the conquerors of Rome, and the founders of 
the present nations of Europe. 

We seem almost compelled to believe that the 
northern parts of Europe, were once more populous 
than they are at present ; and they certainly were 
far more warlike. If their populousness has expe- 
rienced a decline, it must probably have b^en owing 
to the frequency of their emigrations, an'd to other 
causes of a less obvious nature. The refinemtnts of 
modern times, in connexion with the nature of their 
climate and situation, have produced effects on their 
governments, manners and customs, unfavorable to 
population and a martial spirit. On the one band, 
they have not sufficient motives to industry ; without 
which their cold and sterile climate must render them 
indigent and wretched: and on the other, thej hove 
not sufficient exercise in arms, nor niotivcs to war; 
without which they must grow effeminate and cow- 
ardly. In the history of governments, nothing is 
more astonishing, than that the sovereigns of nations 
have not been impressed with ihis truth, that their 
people will not be industrious without a motive, nor 
brave without an exaniple. 

Denmark, which had made a fjgure under the great 
Canute, in the eleventh century, and given a new 
dynnstj^ of monarchs to England, appears little more 
in history for nearly two hundred years : when, for a 
short time, it rose and became' illustrious under a fc- 



NORTHERN POWERS. 59 

male reign. Margaret was daughter of Waldemar 
111. kinsr of Denmark.* She had been nnarried to 
Hacquin, king of Norway, who was the son of Magnus, 
kinir of Sweden, This commencement of her eleva- 
tion, awakened that ambition, and began to display 
those powers, which soon made her the greatest 
monarch which then had ever reigned in the North 
of Europe. 

Olaus, the son of Margaret, in right of his father, 
inherited the crown of Norway, tiiat of Sweden by 
his grandfather, and that of Denmark by his mother. 
For although those crowns were then elective, yet 
that election seldom deviated from the lineal course, 
where there was a prospect of adequate abilities. 
But, Olaus dying, Margaret was chosen by the states 
of Denmark, who, already, had satisfactory proofs of 
her capacity to discharge the duties of that high sta- 
tion, while she had acted as queen regent of Norway. 
She was soon after elected queen of Norway. The 
Swedes, at this time, were governed by Albert of 
Mecklenburg, who, having become odious by big 
tyrannies, they made a tender of their crown and 
fealty to the illustrious Margaret. At the head of an 
army, she marched into Sweden, expelled her rival, 
and immediately took possession of the throne and 
government. 

Margaret being now invested with the government 
of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, projected the 
scheme of the celebrated union of Calmar. At that 
place she assembled the states of the three kingdoms, 
and by their united voice, a solemn decree was passed, 
the substance of which is comprised in the following 
articles : 

I. That Sweden, Denmark and Norway should 
thenceforth have but one sovereign : 

II. That the sovereign should be chosen alternate- 
ly by each of these kingdoms, and that the election 
should be ratified by the other two : 

* RusselPs Modem Europe, vol. ii. p. 379. 



60 NORTHERN POWERS. 

III. That each nation should retain its own laws, 
customs, privileges, and dignities : 

IV. That the natives of one kingdom should not be 
raised to posts of honor or profit in another, but should 
be reputed foreigners out of their own country. 

A minute detail of the reign of Margaret will not 
be expected. It will be sufiicient to observe, that, 
considering the age in which she lived, the rude and 
barbarous nations over whom she swayed the sceptre, 
and the grand objects she effected during her reign, 
few monarchs have been more capable of sustaining 
the weight of empire. Hers was one of the three 
female reigns, which have taken place in modera 
times, that will ever be illustrious in the annals of na-'; 
lions. The names of Margaret, Elizabeth and Cath- 
arine at least are sufficient to rescue their sex from 
the indiscriminate imputation of weakness. 

The union of Calmar, which took place in the last 
year of the fourteenth century, though it could not 
but remain unshaken during the vigorous reign of 
Margaret, from its nature could not continue long. 
States and kingdoms cannot be permanently united 
but by a union of interests, policy, manners and sen- 
timents. The evident partiality, which Margaret 
had shown for her Danish subjects, became so visible 
in Eric, her successor, as to excite a general odium 
throughout Sweden. The Swedes, accordingly re- 
volted from Denmark, and elected for their monarch 
Charles Canutson, descended from the family of 
Bonde. Soon after, however, they re-established the . 
union of Calmar — thus revolting and returning again 
to their connexion three times in the space of about t 
fifty years ; till at length they were conquered and 
enslaved, by Christian II. king of Denmark, known 
by the name of the Nero of the North. 

These revolutions and struggles gradually diminish- 
ed the power of Denmark, and opened the way fori 
the final separation, independence and elevation of 
Sweden. Of this, we shall give an account some* 



NORTHERN POWERS. 61 

what more particular, which we take from Russell's 
Modern Europe.* 

In 1442 the Swedes revolted from Christian I. king 
of Denmark, and invested with the administration of 
their government, Steen Sture. The cause of this 
revolt may be clearly traced, in the extreme partiali- 
ty of the Danish monarchs to their own particular 
subjects, which often led them into acts of tyranny 
the most atrocious, and even subversive of the fun- 
damental articles of the confederation of those king- 
doms. The succession of Sture's son to the regency 
of Sweden, although it was generally approved by the 
nation, was vigorously opposed by Gustavus Trolle, 
archbishop of Upsal, and primate of Sweden. This 
haughty prelate, whose father had been among the 
candidates for the regency, persisting in his opposi-^ 
tion to young Sture's administration, was at length 
besieged in his castle of Steeka, was taken prisoner, 
deposed by a diet of the kingdom, and stripped of all 
his offices ecclesiastical and civil. 

Trolle, in his distress, made application to Leo X, 
a most powerful, accomplished and ambitious pontiff. 
The pope ready to espouse the cause of the deposed 
primate, immediately excommunicated the regent and 
the party that adhered to him, consisting of most of 
the nobility of Sweden. The execution of this bull, 
Leo committed to the bloody Christian IL king of 
Denmark, The history of the following events, 
opens one of the most horrid scenes recorded in the 
annals of mankind. 

Pursuant to the order of Leo X. the king of Den- 
mark invaded Sweden with a powerful army. He 
was encountered by the Swedes in great force, and 
met with so severe a check, that he was forced to 
change his plan of open hostilities for one of the most 
execrable and enormous treachery. He proposed to 
treat with the Swedish regent, and offered to proceed 
in person to Stockholm, provided the Swedes would 

* Vol. ii. p. 380. 
25* 



62 NORTHER?^ FOWfiRS. 

deliver to him six noble youths, as hostages for 
his own safety. These terms were accepted ; and 
accordingly, six young men, of illustrious birth, 
were delivered into the power of this bloody, per- 
tidious monster, and were put on board the Danish 
fleet. 

Christian, now supposing that he had all the advan- 
tage of the Swedes, necessary to bring them to any 
terms, instead of entering, as was proposed, into an 
amicable accornaiodation with the regent, immedi- 
ately carried the Swedish hostages prisoners to Den- 
mark. Of this number the celebrated Gustavus Vasa 
was one. Like the great Alfred of England, he 
learned in the school of adversity, those lessons of 
wisdom, temperance and fortitude, which afterwards 
enabled him to give law to the North of Europe. 

In the following year, 1520, Christian II. returned 
to the invasion of Sweden, with a still greater force. 
Steen Sture met and encountered him in West Goth- 
land ; but being entrapped in an ambuscade, was mor- 
tally wounded. The army of Sweden immediately 
dispersed ; and the victorious Dane, thirsting for 
blood, marched directly to Stockholm. On his arrival 
at the capital, he found nothing but terror, irresolu- 
tion and despair among the Swedes. Trolle, howev- 
er, now resuming his archiepiscopal functions, under 
the conquering standard of Denmark, immediately 
proclaimed Christian king of Sweden. The victori- 
ous monarch affected the greatest possible clemency, 
and swore to govern Sweden, not as a conqueror, but 
in a maimer mild and beneficent, as though he had 
been chosen by a regular diet of the empire, and by 
the voice of the people. 

His coronation feast was sumptuous and superb. 
To this all the senators, grandees and nobility of 
Sweden were invited, and indeed allured by the ap- 
parent generosity, openness and munificence of the 
new king. After the feast had lasted three days, in 
the midst of the greatest security, hilarity and joy. 



/ 
NORTHERN POWERS. 6S 

the archbishop reminded the liing, that although he 
had pardoned ail offences by a general amnesty, yet 
no satisfaction had been given to the pope, in whose 
holy name he now demanded justice. An army in- 
stantly rushed into the imll,and secured all the guests 
that were obnoxious. The archbishop immediately 
opened his spiritual court, proceeded against them as 
heretics, and condemned them to death. A scaffold 
was erected before the palace gate ; and Jpinety-four 
persons were executed^ among whom was Eric Vasa, 
father to the celebrated Gustavus, who was at this 
time a prisoner in Denmark. 

Thus fell the nobility of Sweden, accused of no 
crime, but that of defending the liberties of their coun- 
try. And when we consider all the circumstances of 
this horrid butchery, and especially that it laid claim 
to the sanction of Christ's benevolent religion, there 
is not a more shocking occurrence to be found in 
history. The subsequent account of this barbarous 
tyrant leaves little room to doubt, that Divine Justice 
saw fit to make itself visible for his punishment, even 
in this v/orld. Death often lurks in the insidious 
smiles of a tyrant ; and the voice of all history and 
of all experience loudly declares, that he is never to 
be trusted. 

It shall suffice to observe, that Christian II. soon 
experienced a total reverse of fortune. \ti'\s crimes 
and cruelties rendered him odious to the people of 
his own kingdom. He was deposed by them, and 
compelled to flee, a wretched exile into the Low 
Countries. He endeavored in vain to obtain the as- 
sistance of Charles V. his brother-in-law ; and af- 
ter various struggles died miserably in prison ; " a 
fate," sa}s our author, " too gentle for so barbarous a 
tyrant.y Frederic, Duke of Holstein, Christian's 
uncle, succeeded to the throne of Denmark and Nor- 
Vv-ay ; and as for Sweden, she not only shook off the 
Danish yoke ; but we shall presently see her giving 
law to the Northland menacing the South of Europe. 



64 NORTHERN POWERS. 

In the mean time,tGustavus'Vasa-^with the other 
five hostages, was treacherously imprisoned in Den- 
mark, as before mentioned, ^^rom prison, he soon 
found means to escape, and finding himself pursued, 
fled in disguise and hid himself in the mines of Dale- 
cariia, where he labored for his daily support with 
the miners. Aniong the rude inhabitants of that 
country, he soon began to attract admiration. They 
were charmed with his popular talents and winning 
address. His form was athleti'c, noble and command- 
ing; and his uncommon strength and agility gave him 
a ready ascendency among his rustic associates. Per- 
ceiving their utter detestation of the tyranny of the 
Danes, he took the opportunity of disclosing to them 
his extraction at an annual feast. He made himself 
known, and offered himself as their leader, by a just 
war, to set his country free, and avenge the blood of 
her most illustrious patriots.! 

The people listened to hinf with astonishment ; and 
regarding him as a saviour sent from heaven, they 
flocked from all quarters to his standard. He immedi- 
ately attacked the Danish governor of the province ; 
and taking his castle by storm, put the Danes to the 
sword. In short, nothing could exceed the rapidity 
of his motions ; and in wars and revolutions, celerity 
is always the best insurance of success. He crushed 
all opposition ; every impediment yielded to his genius, 
valor and good fortune, till he ascended the Swedish 
throne. ^lis reign wasi one of the most illustrious 
in the annals of Europ^ 

Durirjg this time, Christian, the Danish Nero,: 
had fallen, and, as already stated, was succeeded by 
Frederic of Holstein. Frederic in 1533 "was succeed-: 
ed by Christian HI. considered as one of the wisest and 
most amiable monarchs of that kingdom. Sweden 
and Denmaik were now both favored with great and 
virtuous princes, who made the happiness of their sub-» 
jects their chief aim and highest glory. The pope, 
who had played such bloody games by the hands of 



NORTHERN POWERS. 65 

his atrocious instruments, now lost all ground in the 
North of Europe, and the Protestant religion was es- 
tablished both by Gustavus and Christian III. in their 
respective kingdoms. 

The reign of Christian III. terminated with his 
life in 1558, and that of Gustavus Vasa,in 1560. 
Their memory is still, and will ever remain, dear to 
their subjects, and famous in history. Gustavus, in- 
deed, may be considered almost as the founder and 
father of his kingdom ; very much resembling, as 
already noticed, the great Alfred of England. His 
reign was long and prosperous. For the space of 
nearly forty years, he maintained the glorious charac- 
ter of a patriot-king. Though his contemporaries, 
(pharles V. Francis I. Henry Vlil. and Solyman the 
Magnificent,^'eigncd over fairer realms and more pol- 
ished people, they merit a lower place in the temple 
of fame, than Gustavus Vasa. They involved their 
subjects in expensive wars, to gratify their own am- 
bition, and crushed them beneath a spiritual tyranny 
in doing honor to the Beast, But Gustavus rescued 
his people from a foreign yoke, diffused among them 
the arts and sciences, and delivered them from the 
Egyptian bondage of spiritual despotism. 

Few events had as yet laid open the immense re- 
gions of Russia and Siberia to the view of history ; nor 
has that extensive country till a late period nnade 
any appearance in the concerns of Europe. As early 
as 1470, John Basilowitz I. grand duke of Muscovy, 
threw off the yoke of the Tartars, under which that 
country had long remained. He soon reduced Novo- 
gorod and Cassan, and received the imperial diadem 
of that country under the title of Czar, which in 
their language sio^nifies king or emperor, as that of 
Czarina does emprrssor queen. To these territories 
his grandson John Basilowitz H. added the extensive 
countries of Astracan and Siberia, in 1554. In this 
reign a treaty of commerce was entered into between 
Russia and England, then governed by queen Eliza- 
beth. 



€6 lirORTHERN POWERS. 

The familj'of this prince soon becoming, in a man- 
ner, extinct, Russia was harassed with a rapid succes- 
sion of usurpers, and civil wars, till Michael Theo- 
dorowitz, son of Romanow, bishop of Rostow, assum- 
ed the government; and was able in 1618, to es- 
tablish a peace with Sweden and Poland, This 
Michael, by the mother's side, M^as descended from 
the Czar John Basilowitz ; and in his person was 
again established the ancient dynasty. Alexius suc- 
ceeded his father Michaeh lie left his dominions to 
his son Theodore, both improved and extended. 
Theodore on his death bed appointed Peter his half 
brother, as his successor, to the exclusion of his own 
brother and sister, Ivan and Sophia. This was he, 
who was afterwards called Peter the Great. As on 
the death of Theodore, Peter was very young, Ivan 
and Sophia endeavored to exclude him from the 
throne. Various struggles were excited ; and the 
existence of the empire seemed to be threatened by 
the prospect of civil wars, and the most violent com- 
motions. The fortune of Peter, however, at length 
triumphed ; and after publicly executing above 3,000 
of the malcontents, he found himself in quiet posses- 
sion of the throne. 

When Providence designs to make a great man, 
some door is generally opened for his doing some- 
thing almost peculiar to himself. The illustrious 
course pursued bj Peter, was struck out by his own 
surprising genius, even while unaided either by ele- 
gant literature, or that speculation which is the result 
of long experience. (In 1697, he retired from his em- 
pire, and travelled as a private gentleman in the reti- 
nue of three embassadors, with a view of visiting 
various nations of Europe, and especially those most 
famed for industry, economy and the important and 
useful arts. At Amsterdam, he made a considerable 
stay, where, as incredihleas it may seem, he entered 
himself in one of the pj^ncipal dock yards, as a com- 
mon laborer, and fared like other journeymen. At 



NORTHERN POWERS. 61f 

the same time, he engaged with the utmost application 
in the study of navigation, commerce, surgery, and* 
the various branches of natural philosoph;^. 

Thence he passed into Engjand, where king William 
received him with marks of Respect, due to the inspe- 
rial traveller and student. Jn England he completed 
his knowledge in naval affairs ; and, after the expira- 
tion of nearly two years, he returned to Russia, ac- 
companied by several men skilled in the arts and 
sciences. 

The whole life of Peter was spent in the rapid for- 
mation and still more astonishing execution of those 
grand schemes, which may be »aid to have given ex- 
istence to one of the most extensive empires ever 
known. But before we proceed farther with his his- 
tory, it will be proper to call tl^e reader's attention 
once more to the history of Sweden. 

Gustavus Vasa, of whose life and character we 
have taken some notice, was succeeded in the Swe- 
dish throne successively by his sons Eric and John. 
The former, far ditferent in his character from his 
father, was deposed in 1568, and the latter died in 
1592, leaving his kingdom to his son Sigismund, al- 
ready king of Poland, Sii^ismnnd, in attempting to 
re-establish the Catholic religion, was also deposed by 
the Swedes in 1600. and his unde, Charles IX. was 
elevated to the throne. The son and successor of 
Charles IX. was the celebreted Gustavus Adolplius. 
In 1611, Gustavus, upon his father's death, was de- 
clared of age, and ascended the throne, though only 
^n his eighteenth yeari /His kingdom, on his acces- 
sion, was enfeebled by a partial subjr-ciion to Den- 
mark, which had existed since the times of the; great 
Margaret. He found its internal concerns in tl.e ut- 
i| most disorder — distracted bv divisions, and torn bv 
I mtestine broils. All his neighbors, the Danes, the 
i Poles, and Russians, were at war with him, and had 

i already infested his territories wit!) great armi'^s, 
takirig encouragement fi-om his youth and inexpe- 



68 NORTHERN POWERS. 

• 

rience, and the known weakness of his kingdon]^ 
(The great Adolphus, on this occasion, showed how 
far the power of genius transcends even experience 
itself, and all the artificial acquirennents that are 
within the reach of many At one effort, he dispelled 
the storm of invasion ; at another he silenced all in- 
testine commotions. Before him, went victory and 
triumph ; and tranquility and order marked his foot- 
steps. His enemies every where met with defeat 
and disgrace, while he extended his conquests, hum- 
bled all his neighbors, and nearly made himself mas- 
ter of Russia. 

Soon after this, by the policy of Cardinal Richlieu, 
as already mentioned, Gustavus was appointed head 
of the Protestant league, {for opposing and humbling 
the house of Austria! His life opens one of the most 
amazing series of splendid actions recorded in histo- 
ry ; and when we consider the power of the enemies, 
whom he as uniformly conquered as encountered, we 
shall see reasons for comparing him with Jrlannibal,* 
if not preferring him to that great warrior. Finding 
no equal in the North, he bent his course southwardly, 
and by a course of victories penetrated the heart of 
Germany. He defeated the famous Count Tilly, the 
Austrian general, long thought invincible ; and gain- 
ed a victory equally complete over his successor 
Walstein. But this victory cost him his life. He 
was unfortunately killed after the field was won ; and 
with his dying breath, made the prophetic declara- 
tion, that he had sealed the liberties of Germany with 
his blood. Had he lived, it is-thought he would hav<| 
put a period to the German empire. 

fThe virtues and abilities of no hero or conqueror, 
shone with greater lustre after his death, than did 
those of Gustavus Adolphus.l They long survived 
him in the armies which he trained, and in the gen- 
erals which he formed. The names of Bernard, 
Torg^ension, Bannier, Wrangel and some others, will 
be celebrated to the latest posterity. Those general 



NORTHERN POWERS 69 

continued the war after the death of Gustavus, and 
gave a blow to the power of the house of Austria 
which it has never fully recovered. Oxenstiern, the 
first minister of Gustavus, who managed the affairs of 
Sweden during the minority of Christiana, his daugh- 
ter and successor, by his consummate skill, enabled 
that princess, in a measure, to dictate the peace of 
Westphalia in 1648. 

JVith the great Gustavus and his generals j the fame 
and prosperity of Sweden seemed to expire. Chris- 
tiana, in 1654, six years after the peace of Westpha- 
lia, resigned her crown to her cousin Charles Gusta- 
vus. The life and adventures of this celebrated prin- 
cess, exhibit the most surprising extremes of magna- 
nimity and weakness — of elevation of mind, and per- 
version of taste. The adventures, through which she 
passed would furnish ample materials for the writer of 
romance. 

Charles Gustavus, who was the tenth of that name, 
was a prince of considerable abilities, and gained 
some advantages in a war with Poland; but his reign 
lasted only six years. He died 1660, and was suc- 
ceeded in his government by his son Charles XI. who 
was an odious and impolitic tyrant. So far from 
imitating the examples of several of his illustrious pre- 
decessors, he used his utmost power to oppress and 
enslave his people. During his long reign, though 
apparently successful in several wars, his kingdom and 
the Swedish name were falling from that important 
and splendid rank they once held in Europe. 

In 1697, by the death of Charles XI. the throne of 
Sweden was left vacant to the famous Charles XII. 
his son and successor, than whom,fprobably, no mortal 
man ever breathed more constantly the spirit of war.^ 
But, instead of possessing the great qualities of Vasa 
and Adolphus. he seemed capable of nothing but war 
and conquest. IHeadlonf; as a tyger, he rushed forward, 
as if only solicitous to %ht, with very little regard to 
prospects of advantage,jor the favorable moment. 
26 



70 NORTHERN POWERS. 

While such a tjger, however, was about to be let 
loose in the North of Europe, a lion, if we ma}- keep up ^ 
the metaphor, was prepared still further north, to keep 
him at bay, and set bounds to his lawless rage. Peter, 
justly styled the Great, had just returned to his own 
dommions, enriched with discoveries and improve- 
ments, calculated to aid him in the grand scheme of 
civilizing the North of Europe and Asia, when Charles 
XII. though but eighteen years of age, ascended the 
throne of Sweden. The views of Charles relative to 
the conquest of Russia, may well be compared with 
those of Alexander in relation to the Persian empire. 
But had Charles acted with that prudent caution, 
which governed Alexander's counsels and move- 
ments, he might have avoided those disasters, which 
ruined himself and his kingdom, even though he had 
failed in tlie main object of his anjbition. 

The wars of Charles, however, were ti'cmcndous ; 
and his name soon became terrible through the 
world. But he was too rash and impetuous to exe- 
cute his plans by means which were necessary to give 
permanence to his success. Ife fought in all direc- 
tions, and was generally victorious. Tic humbled all 
his adversaries except o??c, and struck terror into all 
his neighbors. ITe dethroned Augustus, king of Po- 
land, new modelled the governmont of that kingtlom, 
and caused Stanislaus, a creature of his own, to be 
invested with that sovereii'ntv. But his whole plan 
of operations may be clearly traced lo- his great de- 
sign of subduing Ru?sia,fwhich issucd|in the ()attle of 
Pultowa\ fought on the 1 1th of July, 1709. With a 
brief sketch of the circumstances leading to this de- 
cisive bittle between Charles and Peter, we shall 
close this article, and refer the reader to the details 
of the events in the history of those times. A\'hile 
Charles, mad with bis design of becoming a second 
Alexander and conquering all mankind, was with the 
utmost diliirence preparing the way for his operations 
against Peter, the latter by a stretch of masterly poll- 






NORTHERN POWERS. 71 

cy unequalled in its kind, was widening his resources, 
fortyfyiiig his power, improving his immense empire 
and strengthening the basis of his throne. The \ic- 
torious standard of Charles, in 1707, which had been 
displayed in Saxony to the terror of all Germany, 
was removed and again seen in Poland. Thiiher at 
the head of 43,000 men Charles now proceeded to 
oppose the Russian arms, which during his absence 
had been employed in favor of Augustus the dethron- 
ed monarch. From Lithuania, where he had for 
some time been, Peter directed bis march toward the 
river Boristhencs, avoiding for the present a general 
battle witl) the Swedish hero. So near were the two 
armies, that Charles arrived in the city of Grodno, 
on the same day that Peter left it. But the pursuit 
was in vain. 

The sovereign of Russia on this occasion displayed 
that wisdom and prudence which ireemcd the prelude 
to his future triumph. Finding himself in bis (>\^ n 
dominions, and justly fearing the conserpientes of so 
terrible a conflict, as seemed approaching, he sent an 
embassy to the king of Sweden with proposals of 
peace. Charles returned for answer, that lie would 
treat with him at Moscow. I'he Czar's remark, 
when this haughty answer was brought him, gives us 
a trait of the character of the two rivals. '•' My 
brother Charles," said he, "always aflects to play 
the Alexander; but I hope he will not find me a Da- 
rius." The celerity of his retreat defeated all hopes 
of overtaking him; and the Swedish monarch con- 
soled himself by pursuing his march toward jMoscow. 
But in this he found no small diOiculty. His army 
suffered incredible hardships in pursuing the course 
of the Czar, who, aware of his approach, had des- 
troyed all means of subsistence, and indeed almost 
every vestige of human habitation. Vast forests, mo- 
rasses and extensive solitudes presented before them 
scenes of desolation, and the alarming prospect of 
destruction. Through these dreary wastes, the Rus- 



72 NORTHERN POWERS. 

sians moved with safety, being in their own country, ,, 
and led by a great commander, who knew well how } 
to avail himself of his own resources, and to leave 
behind him nothing to facilitate the progress of his j 
pursuer. 

Charles, though now determined to march to Mos- 
cow, was compelled to alter his line of march, and j 
by a more circuitous course to pass through places, 
Vvhence some supplies might be derived for his army, ^ 
now nearly perishing with fatigue and want of every | 
necessary. The North of Europe abounds with vast 
forests and trackless wilds, almost impassable even in j 
the summer season, and now clothed with double I 
liorrors by the approach of winter. The ablest of- 
liccrs of his army remonstrated against penetrating 
liiosc inhospitable climes in the winter season. Count 
t^iper, on whom he had ever placed much depen- 
dence, earnestly recommended it to him to remain in 
the Ukraine, a province lying along the river Boris- 
(hcnes, till the winter, which at that time was in- 
tensely severe, was past. He, however, crossed that 
river, and advanced to the banks of the Disna, be- 
yond which, he perceived a Russian army posted to 
icr^ist his j)assage. 

He crossed, however, and continued his march, 
making a slow progress into the Russian teriitories. 
Hovering parties of the enemy added continual sur- 
prise to his painful and perilous march; and num- 
bers of his men daily perished through the inclemen- 
cy of the season. Wearing away the winter in 
those frosty regions, he at length arrived on the 10th 
of May at the town of Pultowa, where was an impor- 
tant magazine of stores and necessaries, of which the 
Swedish army was in great want. But Pultowa was 
defended by a garrison of SOOO Russians ; and the 
Czar himself lay not very far distant with an army of 
70,000 men. 

The attack of Charles upon this place, which was 
strongly fortified, was one of the most daring enter- 



NORTHERN EUROPE. 73 

prises ever attempted by any commander. For that 
reason he could not be dissuaded from so rash a mea- 
sure. In spite of every effort of the Swedes, the 
town could not be reduced before the arrival of the 
Czar with his main army ; and Charles, although 
wounded in his heel by a musket ball, determined to 
give him battle. He ordered his army to advance 
and attack the Russian camp. The Swedes, long 
inured to victory, made a formidable onset, and not 
without impression ; the Russian cavalry was broken, 
but soon rallied behind the infantry. The king of 
Sweden, borne in a litter, animated his troops, and 
displayed all the talents of the soldier and hero. But 
he contended against superior fortune. On the side 
of Peter, there was equal skill and bravery with 
greater numbers. The Swedes fought with astonish- 
itig fury for two hours, but were exposed in the face 
of a tremendous train of artillery, which the Czar, 
whose arrangements for the battle were masterly, had 
opened upon them. Their charge upon the Russian 
line proved ineffectual ; and their defeat, which was 
inevitable, was only announced by their destruction. 
9000 Swedes fell on the field of battle ; and the army 
of Charles was utterly ruined. Charles himself, with 
a small party o{ horse, escaped with difficulty^ 
and hastily crossing the Boristhenes, fied with a few 
attendants to Bender, a town in Moldavia, in the 
Turkish dominions. 

Charles XII. never recovered from this humbling 
stroke, which seemed for a while to give respite to 
the North of Europe ;*arid was certainly followed by 
vast consequences to that part of the globe. But there 
never was a more restless man than Charles. He 
continued lo struggle, negotiate and fight as long as 
he continued to breathe; which was about nine years 
from the battle of Pultowa. For a particular ac- 
count of the various fortunes and adventures of this 
Extraordinary prince, the reader is recommended to 
peruse Voltaire's history of him. As already noticed^ 
.2G* 



I 



74 NORTHERN POWERS. 

he threw himself into the power of the Turks, de- 
termining never to return to his own dominions hut 
as a conqueror. He persevenid in this resolution for 
several years; but was compelled, to break it at last. 
Constantly fomenting intrigues, coihmotions andlwara 
in all directions, he could never lay aside his design 
against Russia, nor indeed his hope of subduing that 
mighty empire. 

Thus passed the life of Charles, till in December, 
1718, he was killed before the town of Frcdericshall, 
in Norway, by a cannon ball. After he was struck 
by the ball, he only had time to lay his hand upon his 
sword, grasj)ing which he expired. 

All historians, who speak of him, allow him to have 
l)cen one of the most extraordinary men who ever 
lived. Had his prudence been equal to his courage, 
energy and ambition, he would have equalled if not 
excelled all other conquerors. tThe disasters of his 
reign gave a blow to Sweden, which she has never 
recovered.1 She has been declining during the last 
century, and has now become but a secondary power 
in Europe. 

l*eter the Great, happily delivered from so trouble- 
some and dangerous a neighbor, for the remainder of 
his reign had little to frustrate his favorite schemes for 
improving his cm[)ire. He built a city at the head of 
the gulf of Finland, which he determined should bear 
liis name. In the space of a century, Petersburg has 
become one of the most splendid cities in the world. 
Peter displayed the grandeur of his mindjlnore in the 
arts of peace, than of war4 P^e projected a union 
between the river Dwina, the Wolga and Tanais, thus 
to open a communication between the Baltic, Euxine, 
Caspian and Northern seas) In short, no prince, ever 
did more to enlighten, improve and adorn his empire. 
Peter was succeeded by his wife Catharine I. and 
ahc, by Peter II. who, after a short reign, died in 1730 
of the small pox. He was grand son to Peter the 
Great, whose direct male line, in him, was extinct; 



GREAT BRITAIN. 75 

The throne was next filled by Anne, second daughter 
to Ivan, eldest brother to Peter the Great. She was 
succeeded by Elizabeth, daughter to Peter the Great ; 
Elizabeth, hy her nefjhew Peter III. and he, by his 
wifdICatharine 11^^ princess of Anhalt-Zerbst; whose 
reign almost eclipsed the glory of that of Peter the 
Great. She was succeeded by her son Paul, and he 
by the present emperor Alexander. 



CHAPTER VIIT. 

CONTINUATION OF THE VIEW OF EUROPE. 
GREAT BRITAIN. 

THE history of most nations, is but the history of 
|war and destruction to the human race| The mind 
is perfectly fatigued and disgusted in reading of noth- 
ing but fighting, killing, murder, treason, and desola- 
tion. In the history oflfEngland) the mind is often 
relieved with a most pleasing variety of prospect. It 
is the history of arts and sciences, of philosophy and 
government, of commerce and agriculture ; and, to 
show that the English people are of one blood, and 
of one spirit with other nations, there is also the his- 
tory of revolutions, of treasons, plots, massacres, and 
desolating wars.* But the English people exhibit a 
surprising and illustrious examplef of mental energy 
and excel lenceO Thoyliave been able to give tran- 
scendent importance to a comparatively small island, 
and that for a long time. 

Great Britain is an island much smaller than Bor- 
neo, or Madagascar, or Niphon, or some others, which 

* Resides foreign wars innumerable and almost incessant, the 
English have had, according to the enumeration of Le Sage, 16 
civil wars and 9 religious commotions since the Conquest. In the 
language of Goldsmith, England may well be denominated a land 
9f scholars and a nurse of arms, — Ed. 



7C GREAT BRITAIN. 

might be named : yet, Jfor nearly twenty centuries] it 
lias holdcn an important rank among the nations of 
the earth, and is now mistress of the. sea. In a for- 
mer chajHer, we have noticed J-'.gbertl at the head of 
the Saxon heptarchy, about the yciar oOO. The? suc- 
cessors of Egbert were exceedingly harassed by the 
p)anesJwho at length planted themselves on the sea 
coast, and seized all the finest parts of England. 

Thc(grcat Alfretf^thc deliverer of his country, and, 
as he is styled, the father of the English constitution, 
was the grandson of Egbert. Q\'hen all was given up 
for lost, and the Danes were considered as masters of 
England, the '• immortal Alfied" suddenly broke from 
his concealment, where he had, for some years, been 
hidden in the deej)est disij^uise and remotest recesses. 
Jlc erected the standard of his native country, which 
soon became a rallying point. A\ itli a small body of 
men he encountered and defeated the Danes. TUc 
rapid rumor of his success drew multitudes to his 
standard. The Danes were every where defeated, 
and, in a short timje, expelled from the islanJ^ 

Perhaps no monarch ever tnorc justly deserved the 
title of Father of his cmtntry^ i\mn{A\iiCi}J After the 
incessant wars had subsided, wliich made him power- 
ful and independent, he set liimself, with the greatest 
mcrfry and industry, to improve liis kingdom. He 
founded the uni\ crsity of Oxford, in 896 ; he rebuilt 
the city of London ; he divided England in counties, 
hundreds, ^c. ; he revived thqfirial by jury][ and gave 
dignity, purity and despatch to the c(^urts of justice: 
in a word, it may be said, that he did his utmost(to 
jliffvise individual happiness among his pcoj^c^as well 
as to give his kingdom the external marks of dignity 
and s[»lcndor. 

The reign of Alfred was long and prosperous. No 
prince was ever more beloved by his subjects than 
he ; and he died in peace, full of days, and covered 
with glory, in 901. . 

The successors of Alfredj(for more than a cenluryjl 
were employed in wars with the Danes, with various. 



GREAT BRITAIN. 77 

but, at length^^with declining success^ In the first 
part of the eleventh century /tanute the Great) king 
of Denmark, completed the conquest of England, and 
established himself on the English throne. In 1035, 
he left his dominions toAlaroldyl who, after a short 
and inglorious reign, was succeeded bj^n^afdicanutCj) 
in uhom the Danish race of kings became extinct; 
when the ancient line was restored. 

The Saxon race was restored in the person offEd- 
ward the Confessor^ but in him was again deprived 
of the crown. In lOGG, he was succeeded by(IIaroId 
the Usurper^ the son of the famous Godwin, carl of 
Kent. 

The British crown seemed now to be unsettled, 
and, in a measure, flt the disposal of the common 
chances of war. AVilliam of KormandjJa prince of 
great territorial resources, and of still greater abili- 
ties for war, prepared to assert his claim to it — a very 
8pe( ious claim, indeed, but the origin of all monar- 
chial claims ; for, as Brcnnus told the Romifh embas- 
sador?,, ^' The right of conquerors lies In their 
swords,'' "William's claim was grounded wl.(^lly in 
Ijis power; and he was successful. Accompanied by 
many soldiers of fortune, whom the fame of his abili- 
ties and tile splendor of his enterprise hacfA'aw n from 
all partsT>f llurope, he made a formidable descent 
upon the English coast, and landed without opposi- 
tion. He was soon met by Harold at the head also 
of a powerful army. Few fields have been more 
sharply disputed : arguments of great strength were 
used on both Ifdes. Their clainis and great exer- 
tions, in point of merit, as well as in point of strength, 
were nearly e(jiial. Each of the rivals, as well as 
many of their followers, liad the same grand objects 
in view ; each fouglit for life, crown, erftpire, honor, 
glory and everlasting fame. The eyes of all Europe 
were anxiously turned toward the scene ; and the pen 
of the historian was r^'ad^ to tratsmit (he event to un- 
born ages. Great bravery was displayed on both sides. 



73 GREAT BRITAIN. 

Harold fell in battle, and William seized, without 
further opposition, the august prize.l He found it, 
however, more difficult to retain than to acquire the 
crown of England. He was kept in continual alarms, 
and his life was endangerec^by daring plots and con- 
spiracies^ His jealousies of the English people, 
which were not increased without cause, occasioned 
universal alterations in the internal police of the 
kingdom. (He deeply infringed the ancient constitu- 
tion ; and, at length breaking over all restraint, he 
caused innumerable confiscations; and, by suborned ' 
evidence, the most unjust and cruel attainders of 
treason. He nearly exterminated the ancient no- 
bility, and by degrees, cfTected a conversion of the 
propel ty of ihe whole kingdom^ 

From the times of (\Villiam me Conquerorjto the 
reign of Henry Vlll. the history of England presents 
a varirgated and interesting scene. The Henries 
and Edwards were, generally,/Doth statesmen and 
warriors^ It will be impossible to go into a particu- 
lar consideration of their respective reigns ; but we | 
must bog the reader's permission to pass over this 1 
very considerable pe»iod with a few general remarks, i 

During this period the struggles between the three 
orders, vi^^the king, lords and commonsjwere in- 
cessant, and, at times, had well nigh involved the 
kingdom in ruin. The great and powerful lords, 
were often teo powerful for the crown, and for the 
commons. They held their castles and strong for- 
tresses in all parts of the island ; and, wheie a union 
happened to combine their strength, they seemed of- 
ten to bid fair to do, as Poland has since done to its 
own utter ruin — that is, to overturn the throne, and 
enslave the people. Of all governments in the world, 
perhaps an /aristocracy] is the worst. It is like a 
hydra with a hundred heads; it is restless, because 
ambitious, and weak, because disunited; it is misera- 
ble because experienced without virtue ; and con- 
temptible, because wise and crafty without power. 



GREAT BRITAIN. 79 

The time proper for action is consumed in delibera- 
tion ; and the lucky moment passes unimproved. 

While the En^ish government leaned chiefly to- 
ward this form, The nation was feeble and liable to 
innumerable divisions i^nd, owing to this cause, had 
been easily subjugated^y the Saxons, Danes, and NoV- 
mans.\ The undue power and influence of the"great 
lords, remained firm and unshaken, and must have 
ultimately terminated in the ruin of the nation ; but 
it received a fatal blow by the policy of/Henry VII. ) 
whoi^o far abolished the feudal tenures, as to enable 
the nobility and great peers of the realm, to alienate 
their landed estates, which before his time, they could 
not.) This occasioned a change, and a much wider 
distribution of property, and had a tendency to pro- 
duce a juster balance in the powers of government. 

The extraordinary abilities, fortunes and charac- 
ters of several of the English monarchs, contributed 
greatly to establish, unite, and dignify the nation. 
Perhaps no nation in Europe, at this early period, 
was governed so ably and so wisely. Several of the 
Henries and of the Edwards, were men of the most 
consummate abilities. We have already mentioned 
Henry V. With his name we may associate that of 
Edward 111. who As called the father of the English 
constitution. He was equally great in war; and 
held, during his glorious reign, no less the confidence 
and veneration of his subjects than the dread of his 
enemies, j 

It was the peculiar telicity of England, (to derive 
benefit from their worst, as well as from their best and 
ablest princes) They had several kings, who would 
answer well to be ptit upon the black list of Roman 
emperors. But, even those disgraceful reigns were 
directly or indirectly productive of good. In the 
contemptible and inglorious reign of^king John,^ 
was laid the corner s(onc of English liberty — the 
main pillar of that mighty fabric of power, wealth, 
political wisdom and safety, which has enabled the 



8d GREAT BRITAIN. 

people of that island to hold, at times, the balance 
of Europe ; and by which they now hold tlie em- 
pire of commerce and navigation, and are able to 
unfurl their triumphant flag throughout the whole 
world of waters. { 

rXhe Magna Charla* is a billof rights, founded on 
the most obvious principles of natural and civil jus- 
tice ;land regarding it as a human invention, among 
all the nations of the world if we except the United 
States, nothing can be found either in ancient or 
modern times, equal or comparable to it. (It demon- 
strates that, even in the 13th century, the English 
nation far excelled Greece and Rome in political wis- 
dom and virtue.^ And the constitutions and bills of 
rights in our own happy country, are but children 
from that illustrious parent. Whether the English 
nation are as wise in the I9th, as they were in the 
13th century, the writer docs not pretend to say. 
l^hey doubtless, need as much wisdom. 

There is, perhaps, no reign recorded in the annals 
of history more weak and miserable, or of much 
greater length, than that of Henry VI. Yet the 
struggles and revolutions during that tempestuous 
reign, were, by no means, the convulsions of death ; 
but, if we may use a phrase sometimes used by phy 
sicians, they were the vis medicatrix naturwii of the 
kingdom. Old Warwick, the king-maker^ was then 
alive 5 and queen Mare:aret could well fight the bat- 
tles of her husband. The invincible spirit of the na- 
tion was often roused ; nor was it restored to tran- 
quility without laying some stone in the national 
fabric, which was destined for many ages to resist the 
billows of time. 

In the period now before us, the reader of English 
history, will find his attention drawn to one of the 
most extraordinary civil wars, in which any nation 
was ever engaged. It was a contention between the 

* The Great Chart.— Ed. 

I The healing power of nature^ — En. 



GREAT BRITAIN. 81 

houses of York and Lancaster, (for the crown of Eng- 
land J Both descended from the ancient royal hne. 
These wars, after having embroiled the kingdom dur- 
ing (several successive reigns,j and cost much blood 
and treasure, were happily ended^n the accession of 
Henry Vll^to the throne, in whom both claims were 
united. ' 

No monarch ever mounted the English throne un- 
der greater advantages than Henry VIII. It is sup- 
posed that his father, at the time of his death, pos- 
sessed more ready money, than all the monarchs of 
Europe besides.* ■J-Iis kingdom was powerful, united, 
and at peace wmh the neighboring powers. His 
treasury was fulll and he was himself a prince of 
great abilities. But Henry, with all these advan- 
tages, was a vain, odious, unprincipled tyrant. His 
pride and vanity could be measured by nothing but 
cacli other; because they were both unbounded, 
le was false, cruel, capricious, fickle, and of a tem- 
per overrun with the meanest jealousy, and the most 
vindictive resentment^ His tyranny seemed always 
tc^flow from mere malice and depravity. 

(Providence, however, employed him as an instru- 
ment to humble the pride of a still greater tyrant than 
himself, the Roman pontiff.^ His most celebrated ex- 
nloits, (for he never seemed ambitious of war,) were 
fiiis matrimonial connexions and dissentions, his sepa- 
ration from the church of Rome, kis founding the 
English church by making himself and successors the 
head of itj(a temporal head to a spiritual body,) and 
his composing a prayer book and forms of worship 
for the same. 

The support which Luther's reformation in Ger- 
many received, from several of the most powerful 
princes of the empire, had already made a great and 
irretrievable infraction upon the Sec of Rome. But 
an event took place in England, which gave a still 
more deadly wound to Popery, Henry VIII. had 
conceived an attachment to Ann Boleyn, a young lady 
27 



iJ 



82 GREAT BRITAIN. 

of his court, of great beauty and accomplishments. 
But he found it impossible to marry, and make her 
the partner of his throne, without finding a pretext 
for divorcing his queen, Catharine of Spain ; and he 
soon found one to bis wish. Before he married her, 
she had been the wife of his brother Arthur. The 
king's conscience suddenly grew remarkably suscepti- 
ble on the occasion, and he shuddered at the idea of 
having lived so long in the horrid sin of incest. The 
matter, however, was no sooner suggested, than all 
imputations vanished. It appeared that his marriage 
was legal, and that nothing existed which could, in 
the slightest degree, tarnish the reputation of his vir- 
tuous queen. 

But what satisfied others, could by no means satisfy 
Henry. His conscience grew more clamorous ; and 
his scruples every day increased. Finding he could 
effect nothing at home, he made application to the 
pope for a dispensation of divorcement. The popdl 
alter a full hearing of the cause, rejected the applica- 
tion in the most peremptory terms. Henry persisted. 
The pope threatened. |Henry divorced his queen, 
and married the lady Ann. The pope thundered^ a 
bull of excommunication against him, and laid his 
kingdom under an inteftlict, absolving his subjects 
from their allegiance. Henry, on his part, met the 
pope's bull by another bull as stout, and excommuni4 
cated the popeJ Thus the separation of Englana 
from the Romisn church, began ; and various causes, 
of a more pure and laudable nature, gavefit strength 
and stability. 

The cruelty and crimes of Henry, increased pro- 
gressively with his years. The noblest blood of Eng- 
land flowed to satisfy his savage barbarity of heart. 
Even the beauteous Ann Boleyn, whom he had mar- 
ried and raised to his throne, found neither in her j 
charms nor virtues, any security, from the jealousy ' 
and rage of this infernal monster. Upon a slight sus- 
picion of inconstancy to the king, she sufl^red death. 



GREAT BRITAIN. 83 

But we will not waste the reader's time in tracing the 
atrocities of a villain of the first magnitude, who, con- 
sidering his superior advantages, deserves to sink into 
the shailes of eternal infamy,lten thousand degrees 
below Nero or Domitiani 

The death of Edward V I. in his(J 6th year) left the 
throne vacant to^Iarj^k who was justly styled the 
^loody Marj^ Her aoministration was distinguish- 
ed byjiothing but weakness and cruelty^ The flames 
of persecution were lighted up all over the kingdom ; 
and the names of feonncr and Gardiner] will descend, 
with infamy to all posterity, as being the base instru- 
ments of her cruelties. 

Mary died in 1553 ; and her short and inglorious 
reign was followed by one of a character opposite in 
all respects, ^lizabeth,! daughter of Henry Vlll. by 
Ann Boleyn, succeeded her sister Mary, tin her 26th 
year| and continued to govern England 145 ycarsf 
The chief traits of her administration |were energy, 
sagacity, a good share of justice, able counsels, a pro- 
found and extensive policy/and what Cicero calls fe- 
licity, or good fortune, f^'ew monarchs ever held the 
reins of government with a stronger, more steady, or 
more cautious hand, than queen Elizabeth t yet with 
all these, .were blended, it is said, a/slight tinge of 
vanity of her sex, and of the arbitrary cruelty of her 
father./ 

Under such an administration, as might be natu- 
rally expected, many important objects were accom- 
plished. pFhe internal structure of the English gov- 
ernment received vast accessions of strength and per- 
fection. The reformation, begun by IJenry VIII. 
and attempted to be destroyed by Mary, was render- 
ed permanent under the reign of Elizabeth ; the 
Protestant cause in Europe, received countenance, 
credit and support from so powerful a friend. Con- 
fusion was poared upon tl^ gloomy counsels and san- 
guinary designs of Philip II. ; and the English navy 
acquired universal respectability by its brilliant vic- 
tories over the Spanish flcetsl 



84 GREAT BRITAIN. 

Elizabeth was succeeded by James VI. of Scotland, 
and I. of England ; under whose crown was united the 
sovereignty of the British island. The only great 
exploit in which Jamfes excelled other nnen^Nvas his 
discovering the powder plot ; which would", other- 
wise, have escaped the sharpest eyes in England) 
(rhe Catholic faction had contrived to bury 36 bar- 
rels of gun-powder under the parliament house, wherd^ 
the king, lords, and commons were, on a certain day, 
to be convened. The plot, though entrusted to nearly 
a hundred persons, had been kept a profound secret 
for eighteen months ; and was, within a few days of 
its consummation, when a certain member of the par- 
liament, received an anonymous letter, of the most 
singular contents, warning him to abstain from at- 
tending tbe parliament. The letter Uas communi- 
cated to the king, who laid it before his privy coun- 
cil. When all were at a loss, and many concluded 
it to be a mere ridiculous whim, the king gave it as 
his opinion, that a plan was laid to blow up the par- 
liament with powder. On searching the vaults of 
the house, the powder was found ; and Guy Fawks, a 
daring villain, was taken with the matches in his 
pocket, for firing the magazine^ 

Ilames. with all the pride of royalty which any 
monarch needs, had neither genius nor ability to 
govern. I The contrast between him and Ehzabeth, 
was striking. lie was weak, superstitious, timid, and 
of course, jealous. His administration laid the foun- 
dationffor the misfortunes and fall of his -successor, 
Charles I.fwho succeeded him in 1625. 

The revolution of Cromwell, and the history of 
England since that time, are generally well under- 
stood. To enter particularly into the several im- 
portant articles of that recent period, would protract 
this work far beyond our original design. We must 
therefore pass it over with a few general remarks ; 
and only add here, that Charles I Jfell a sacrifice to 
his own folly and imprudence in Cromwell's revolu- 



GREAT BRITAIN. 85 

tion/ After Cromwell, Charles II. recovered his 
fathers crown and dominions. James II. succeeded 
him — a prince less wicked, in(^eed, than his brother, 
Charles II. ; but more weak and foolish than his 
father, Charles I. He was deposed, and succeeded 
by fVVilliam, prince of Orange.^ William was suc- 
ceeded by Ann, and she by George I. 11. and III. 

Cromwell's revolution, professedly set on foot in 
the cause of freedom, seems to be a convincing proof, 
that a limited monarchy is that form of government, 
above all others, best adapted to the character of the 
English nation. It is said by judge Blackstone,fthe 
reader may judge how justly, that the English gov- 
ernment comprises the excellencies, and excludes the 
defects of the three leading forms of government. 
•There is a monarch, whose prerogative is limited; 
an aristocracy whose powers are defined ; and a de-| 
mocracy, whose privileges are guaided4 If their 
theory is better than their practice, they are not alone. 

The English nation have exhibited one mark of 
wisdom, energy and virtue, above all other nations. 
lAfter so great, so dangerous, so wasting a revolution, 
as that of Cromwell, they seemed to rise, not like 
Samson after he had lost his hair; but like one who 
is made virtuous by aflliction, strong by exertion, and 
wise by experience. The vicious, inglorious, and 
troublesome reign of the house of Stewart, following 
that revolution, could not prostrate a nation which 
seemed made, not for the tool but the scourge of ty- 
rants.! 

Since the commencement of the 17th century, the 
progress of the British nation in all the arts and 
sciences,|has been truly astonishing, and has outrun 
all calculation! From her universities have issued an 
immense constellation of learned men, equally useful 
and ornamental to the world. Locke and Newton, 
from their innumerable excursions into the material 
and intellectual worlds, irradiated the minds of men 
with beams of knowledge, which lay hidden from the 
27* 



8G GREAT BRITAlJ^r. 

wisest of the ancients. Others have improved upon 
their foundations ; and every art and science has been 
pursued, improved, and brought nearer to perfection, 

Tlic national debt of Great Britain is a matter of 
admiration in everj point of view. Upon it the 
matliemalician, the financier, and the statesman have 
wasted even the midnight lamp in calculation. It 
has been made, by theorists, the subject of contro- 
versy, of applause, of ridicule : it has exhausted the 
decluimer, powers of tongues and pens without num- 
ber: it has often called up the spirit of prediction, 
and^olitical augurs have foretold its final term and 
destiny. This immense debt, if that may be called a 
debt, which is debt in one hand, and credit in the 
other hand of the same body politic, has been accu- 
niuhiting, for more than a century, and, in 1799, was 
febout 500,000,000/. sterling.^ It is much more now; 
l>ut the lat(5st calculations we have not at this instant 
before us.'*' This subject opens various fruitful 
sources of doubt. It is doubtful, whether this vast 
debt can ever be paid. It is doubtful, how long it may 
continue to accumulate consistently with national 
tranquility ; and it is equally doubtful, whether to an- 
nihilate it by a revolution, would not be fatal to the 
kingdom. 

The coqimcrce and naval force of Great Britain, 
is a subject of admiration, equal to that of the nation- 
al debt. Her commerce extends to all parts of the 
world ; and her navy is more than equal to all the 
navies of Europe beside. By means of her power 
by sea, she has subdued, or rendered tributary,|the 
finest parts of India, and many of the most productive 
islands in the ocean^ Into her immense capital, 
rivers of incalculable wealth are daily pouring, from 
all parts of the world. ^ler India-trade has opened 
by far the most extensive, lucrative and dignified sys- 
tems of commerce ever known^ and the merchants 

*= In 1C19, it was estimated at 3,748.200,000 dollars ; mor>? 
♦han 844,000,000/. sterJing.— Er. 



ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 87 

and nobility of London are able to make a display of 
diamonds and pearls lu their dress, equalling, if not 
exceeding, the most superb courts of Asia. 

The reign of George 111. will be considered in his- 
tory |as an imponant and glorious reign J The loss 
of jurisdiction over the American colonies, if an evil 
at all, is trifling in comparison with the vast acces- 
sions of power and wealth, which Great Britain has 
made during the present reign, in other parts. She 
can derive as much benetit from the trade of the 
United States, as before the revolution, which made 
them independent. Had they maintained their colo- 
nial relation, her chief benefit must always have been 
of a con^mercial nature ; and that she maj still enjoy, 
if she will treat them with good manners. George 
III. has not been celebrated as a statesman, a warrior, 
or a monarch, ^lle has, however, some marks of a 
wise prince ; he has not wanted for able and wise 
counsellors, in his cabinet, great commanders by sea 
and land, and men of integrity and talents at the 
lieads of the several departments of government! 
By these, he alone, of all the monarchs of Europe; 
has been able hitherto, to resist the madness and 
raire of a revolution, which in its formidable progress, 
has changed the face of Europe, and still threatens 
to destroy its liberties. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CONTINUATION OF THE VIEW OF EUROPE. 
THE ECCLESL\STICAL STATE. 

fFROM the first part of the 7th century ,\he Eccle- 
siastical State has been one of the most powerful 
and important in the world. Its powers woit pro- 
fessedly of a spiritual or religious, but in reality of a 



88 fieCLESlASTICAL STATE. 

temporal nature : indeed, we may go so far as to say 
they were carnal, sensual, and devilish. 

In the book of Revelation, it is said that John savr 
a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast ; which 
beast had seven heads and ten horns. The wdman 
had written in her forehead the names of Blasphemy, 
and she was called Mystery, Babylon the Great, the 
mother of harlots, &c. This woman is considered as 
representing the church of Rome ; and the beast on 
which she sat, the temporal powers which gave her 
support. Its seven heads, according to some writers, 
represented the seven hills on which ancient Rome 
was built, or, according to others, the seven forms of 
government which have been exercised over that em- 
pire ; and the ten horns, the ten kingdoms over which 
Rome once reigned with a temporal, and afterwards 
with a spiritual dominion. 

It must be confessed that the symbols are striking, 
and the allusions extremely just. At any rate, the 
power of the supreme pontiff, who became universal 
bishop the same year that Mahomet forged the Koran, 
•was very great. His interdict upon a nation, sus- 
pended the performance of all religious rites, and cut 
them off from communion. He could absolve a na- 
tion from their oath of allegiance to their king, and 
give them a right to dethrone and destroy him at 
their pleasure. Such was the superstition of those 
times, that when a nation was interdicted, they were 
considered as exposed to the immediate wrath of 
heaven ; the greatest consternation prevailed, and 
their streets would be filled with men, women, and 
children, with garments rent, hair dishevelled, beat- 
ing their breasts, and deprecating the divine ven- 
geance. The sovereign pontiff had power to pardon 
all manner of sins, and even to grant indulgence for 
the commission of the most enormous crimes. He 
claimed infallibilty ; and, as Christ's vicar and vice- 
gei-enton earth, held the keys of heaven and of hell. 
From the enormity of these claims, which were some- 



ECCLESIASTICAL STATE. 89 

times in the hands of the vilest and most profligate of 
moi'tals, we may conjecture, into what extremes of 
wickedness they would go. 

They went into all possible extremes ; and, indeed, 
exceeded any conception which one can form, who 
never read the history of their proceedings. Princes 

I and the greatest emperors, have been known to stand 
barefoot at the gate of the haughty pontiff, patientlj 
waiting for admittance : and when admitted, the holy 

I father would set his foot upon their necks, and tread 
upon their crowns. In this manner one of the popes 
treated an emperor of Germanv : but they could not 
tread upon the neck of Henry VI 11. 

1 Since the reformation in Germany and England, 

I the papal throne has tottered. While Henry IV. 

I governed France, his favour to the Protestants hasten- 

J ed the decline of that formidable hierarchy : and even 
Lewis XIV. though he destroyed the Protestants of 
his own kingdom, yet he aided their cause in the per- 
son of Gustavus Adolphus, who headed the Protes- 

i tant league against the house of Austria. After Gus- 
tavus failed, William III. of England, and queen Ann, 
by the duke of Marlborough, severely shook the 
throne of France, and for a while obtained the most 
splendid triumphs for the Protestant cause; by which, 
of course, the church of Rome was weakened. 

The French revolution threatened, for a while, the 
extinction of Popery ; but the emperor Napoleon, 
fearing the force of the old maxim, J^fo bishops no king^ 
has become a friend to his Holiness, and has re-estab- 
lished the Catholic church in France. But the weak- 
ness of Spain, Portugal, and Italy ; the reformation 
of Germany and England ; the irreligion of France, 
and, indeed, the common sense of mankind, have at 
length reduced the bishop of Rome, nearly to a level 
with other bishops. His vices are censured ; his vir- 

itues are credited ; his ghostly power is despised; his 
infallibility is laughed at; and he is little thought of 
among the rulers of states and empires. 



90 CONCLUSION. 

Since the fall of the ancient Romans, there has 
nothing existed in Europe like universal empire; 
therefore, by the course of empire since that time, 
nothing more can be intended, tlian a serieaHf states 
or kingdoms, which, all things considered, have been 
more powerful than their neighbors. On this sub- 
ject, there may be different opinions. Were we to 
represent the course of empire by a line drawn 
through individual kingdoms, we should draw it thus: 
through Assyria^ Persia^ Greece^ Carthage^ Rome, Con- 
stantinople, Turkey, Germany, and France, 

CONCLUSION. 

Thus have we pointed out to the student, the gen- 
eral outlines, or the mere skeleton of what he will 
find in reading the history of nations. As a man who 
stands on an eminence, and looks attentively over a 
wide and diversified prospect, so is the historian. 
Tijrough the long period of five thousand years, his 
eye wanders among innumerable millions, and descries 
people, nations, and languages, who were once active 
in the busy scenes of time, but are now reaping 
the retributions of eternity. The great nations, 
which enjoyed universal empire, are now silent in the 
dust. And, as objects subtend a less angle in propor- 
tion to their distance, so a century, buried deep in the 
vale of antiquity, appears but as an hour, and the du- 
ration of a nation, but as a day. In the morning, its 
infancy is weak; and its chief defence is in its ob- 
scurity or insignificance, or in the weakness of others: 
it gathers strength by adversity, and at length ac- 
quires a vigorous youth. At mid-day it acquires a 
strong and lofty attitude ; it basks for an hour in the 
beams of prosperity, and drinks deep the inebriating 
draughts of luxury and pleasure. And now its beau^ 
ty, fades; its strength decays; its glory perishes; and 
the declining day hastens a night of storms, and clouds 
and everlasting darkness. 



, CONCLUSION, 9 1 

The nations of men resemble the perpetually roll- 
ing and conflicting waves of the ocean. Jf a billow 
rise high, it is but to sink as low ; if it dash its neigh- 
boring b.illow, it is but to be dashed in its turn ; if it 
rage and foam, it is but to exhaust itself the sooner ; 
if it roll tranquilly on the bosom of the deep, it is but 
to sink forever by its own gravity. It is thus with all 
nations, with all human institutions, and with all the 
noblest inventions and works of art. 

" The cloud-capt towers — the gorgeous palaces — 
The solemn temples — the great globe itself; 
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve — 
And, like the baseless fabric of a vision, 
Leave not a wreck behind.*" 

i And alas ! the ravages of time, thous;h rapid and 
1 resistless, are too slow to satisfy the furious rage of 
i restless mortals; they must share the empire of des- 
truction. To them, the work of death is most pleas- 
ant; and to cultivate the art of killing and destroy- 
ing, has been their chief pride and glory in all ages, 
though while employed in that dreadful work, they 
sink in destruction themselves. Unhappy children 
of men ! When will you learn to know and to prize 
your true interests ? When will you be convinced of 
that, than which nothing is more certain, that war 
adds infinitely to tbe number and weight of your 
calamities? that it hlls the world with misery, and 
clothes all nature in mourning ? that it covers your 
souls with crimson, inexpiable guilt, and brings upon 
you the wrath and curse of heaven? 

Is there to be no change in this tragic, this direful 
scene of blood and slaughter ? Shall brotherly love 
and cordial afTection never become universal ; and 

fcace never wave her white banner througiiout the 
arth? is there no durable institution, founded in -vir- 
tue, and permanent as the eternal rules of justice ? Is 
there no firm ground of hope? no rock, on which truth 
and reason may build a fabric that shall never fall ? 
Yes; there is a Kingdom : its foundations were laid of 



92 PRESENT STATE 

• 

old : its king is the God of heaven : its law is perfect 
love : its donninions are wide, for they extend to the 
wise and virtuous in all worlds : all its subjects are safe; 
for they are defended by almighty power : and they 
shall rise to eternal prosperity and glory, when all 
earthly kingdoms shall vanish like a shadow or a 
dream. 

There is an unseen hand, which guides the affairs 
of nations. Throughout ail their changes and revolu- 
tions, through the seemingly dark and troubled chaos 
of human concerns, an almighty Providence over- 
rules ; and all events, past, present, and to come, are : 
employed in directing and completing the destinies of 
all creatures, in subserviency to that infinitely great 1 
and glorious kingdom, which shall never be removed. I 



CHAPTER X. 

THE PRESENT STATE OF EUROPE. 

THE great alterations in the affairs of Europe, 
since the French revolution, and the continual 
changes which are taking place, render the subject 
before us very difficult. Before these sheets are pub- 
lished the state of Europe may be considerably chang- 
ed from what it now is. As it may affect the political 
relations of that quarter of the globe, we can only say, 
that a great revolution is now on the wheel. Whether 
it will be stationary, progressive, or retrograde, we 
cannot tell. Events may be in embryo, which will 
defeat all calculation, and render the state of Europe 
better or worse, than it ever has been. 

KNOWLEDGE. 

Europe, in point of knowledge, has holden the as- 
cendency, for more than two thousand years, over the 



OF EUROPE. 93 

ijtber quarters of the globe : and we shall hazard the 
opinion, that a comparison of the present, with all for ■ 
mer periods, will be found highly favorable to Europe 
at the present time.* In the most flourishing periods 
of Greece and Rome, knowledge, or mental improve- 
ment, in general, was limited to a few places. If we 
take into view all the Greek and Roman territories, it 
is probable that notone to ten among the Greeks, and 
not one to a hundred among the Romans, knew hozo 
to read and write : but, at the present time, it is prob- 
able, that more than one third of the people of all 
Europe, can do both. The art of printing has filled 
all places with books, and brought the means of 
knowledge within the reach of mankind in general. 

Yet how^ many millions, even in that quarter of the 
globe, are still enslaved by ignorance and error. vThe 
peasants in Poland, Sweden, Denmark, apd Russia, 
are the most ignorant people in Europe. They are 
bought and sold with the farms on which they live ; 
and their lives are at the disposal of the great lords 
who own them. Yet they know no means of relief. 
They do not in many instances, know but that all is 
right. Like a beast of burden, they bow to the yoke ; 
and if they often groan with painful servitude, they 
seldom think of deliverance. The manners and 
habits of those nations are so firmly fixed, their pre- 
judices so deep and strong, that there is little prospect 
of any alteration for the better. 

It is matter of surprise, that the more enlightened 
and wise part of society in those nations, even that 
their governments, who consist of great and accom- 
plished statesmen, well acquainted with all Europe, 
do not reason more correctly, and act more consistent- 
ly, toward their peasantry. They certainly know, 
that industry cannot exist, where it is not encouraged ; 
that nothing can awaken enterprise but a prospect 
of great gain ; that their peasantry have no encour- 

* Most of the literature of Europe is to be found in Britain, 
'France and Germany. — Ed. 
28 



94 PRESENT STATE 

agement to industry, and no stimulus to enterprise, 
Tiic}^ see them to be a poor, miserable, ignorant race, 
as void of ambition as beasts, yet without their docility. 
Their farms are consequently unimproved ; the an- 
cient forests maintain their ground, and even wild 
beasts make head against them. In times of peace, 
their agriculture, their commerce, and manufactures 
are neglected ; and, in time of war, if we except 
Russia, their armies are contemptible. 

The poor of these nations should be encouraged, 
first of all by giving them instruction, and then by 
placing before them the proper motives to industry.. 

It has been often questioned, whether the preva- 
lence of knowledge in society would not tend to se- 
dition, disloyalty, treason, and rebellion. ^Experience 
determines this question in the negative. The most 
knowing people have been generally the most easily 
governed. Government scarcely exists among sav- 
ages. In barbarous countries there is always a con- 
tinual succession of turbulent rebellions and revolu- 
tions. It will not be denied, that the English nation, 
taken as a body, are the best instructed and wisest 
people in Europe ; and their government is the most 
regular and permanent. 

It is a general observation, that the most learned 
and best informed people, have the best government 
in practice at least, if not in theory, and conmionly 
in both. For example, the governments of France 
and Germany are better than those of Spain and 
Russia ; and the people of the former are certainly 
better informed than those of the latter. The gov- 
ernment of Poland has been remarkable for weak- 
ness ; that of Turkey, for strength. But both have 
been equally corrupt and wicked ; and the people, 
who live under them, are the most ignorant of any 
in Europe. The letter and spirit of the Russian gov- 
ernment consider all its subjects as slaves, or even 
machines without will. They live quietly under such 
a government, because they are without understanding. 



OF EUROPE. 95 

It is an important question, how far a continual 

and rapid increase of knowledge, among all classes 

of people, would go toward remedying the evils of all 

governments, and even toward abolishing the system 

of war now pursued by most nations. It is also an 

important question, to what extent learning might be 

carried in society, consistently with its true interests. 

• It would be vain and useless to establish the former, 

without previously ascertaining the latter question. 

No nation, and doubtless no state, has carried the 

i system of education to that height and perfection, 

which would best promote its internal well being and 

Jionor. No individual town, even in New-England, 

i has pursued this object in proportion to its impor- 

I tance. To open this subject for discussion, we will 

suppose an extreme case, and from that extreme, will 

; descend to such means as must be acknowledged to 

be attainable. 

For the sake of illustration, we will suppose, tliat 
every man in Europe had the knowledge of Sir Wil- 
liam Pitt; we will say nothing about virtue ; the per- 
fection, or prevalence of which, among men, is never 
to be looked for as the fruit of their exertions. A 
change would gradually or suddenly take place in all 
the governments of Europe. A man, when he 
knows his true interest, uill naturally pursue it. The 
present oppressions of Europe are generally mere 
impositions upon ignorance and simplicity. The 
poor peasant firmly believes, that he was born to 
serve, and his lord, to rule. He believes, that his 
body is made of coarser materials, that his blood is 
less rich, and that his soul, if he knows he has one, 
is from a humbler stock of intelligence. Give him 
knowledge, raise him within the sphere of Pitt's intel- 
ligence, and all these delusions vanish. He sees the 
faults of his government; he sees a remedy within 
his reach : he pursues, and gains it. 

He would never suffer with the poor ignorant 
wretch, who knows not— who thinks not, even in his 



9^ PRESENT STATE 

dreams, of a better state. The ignorance and ser- 
vility of the poor, is at once both the cause and effect 
of their poverty. And certainly it invites and allures 
the impositions, the aggressions, the domination and 
insolence of men of stronger minds. 

After all that has or can be said of the power of 
wealth, '^ The mind's the standard of the man." 
Give the lower orders of people in Europe but the 
intellectual powers of the higher — give them the 
mental cultivation, the ambition, the fire of genius ; 
and the wall, which separates them will fall to the 
ground. 

It is readily granted that all men can never acquire^ 
the knowledge of William Pitt : but how vastly igno- 
rant is the bulk of the people, in the most enlightened 
nations ! and with what ease their minds might be 
raised, almost infinitely above what they are. Let 
the expense of education rest on the government, 
empowered to draw sufiicient funds from the nation. 
This is indeed, partially the present method of the 
New-England States. And from this very source, 
fthey are the freest, happiest and most enlightened, 
^people on earth.. 

No doubt it will be said that this is theory. What 
then ! Is nothing worthy of regard, which admits of 
theoretical speculation ? Is not the education of youth 
an object worthy the attention of government ? If it 
could be regarded as such, as it ought universally to 
be, certainly no govermental object ever outweighed 
it — ^no earthly one, ever more justly demanded legis- 
lative wisdom. It was the opinion of Lycurgus, that 
the partial affection of paients for their children, dis* 
qualified them for exercising government over them* 
Admitting this as an extreme, we would have govern- 
ment interfere no farther with children, than to point 
out the nature and extent of their education, and 
provide and pay their teachers. 

It is no very uncommon thing for boys to graduate 
in our colleges at sixteen years of age. If then, we 



OF EUROPE. 97 

except the Greek and Latin languages, every boy 
might receive a liberal education before he is fit to 
become an apprentice, or go into a counting house. 
Nor should his improvements be limited here. Other 
institutions should be formed, to extend the mind, 
and to carry into manly maturity the seeds of honor, 
truth, and justice, liberally planted in youth ; yet of 
a nature not to interfere with a course of business. 

If the funds necessary to defray the expenses of 
these important institutions, were raised from an 
equal assessment of property, it would seem, at first 
view, to bear heavy on the rich, especially if they had 
no children : but, for what more important purpose 
can the rich and childless pay their money ? Do they 
not pay freely to support war, government, and al- 
most numberless public institutions? And is the for- 
mation, the well being, the glory and prosperity of 
the rising generation, an object inferior to any of 
these ? But, in effect, it would not bear hard upon 
the rich ; for there would soon be very few poor. I 
appeal to the present, though imperfect practice of 
the New-England States. There are fewer poor 
among them, than in any other part of the world. 

There is nothing wanting then, but virtue in man- 
kind, nothing but a proper direction even of selfish- 
ness itself, to effect far greater improvements in soci- 
ety — far more light and knowledge, than ever existed 
in any nation. These improvements, so far from be- 
ing prejudicial to government, would soon originate 
governments which the individual happiness of men, 
would induce them to love and support. And these 
governments, whether monarchies or republics, would 
enjoy the confidence of the people, and those who 
administered them would possess a power far more 
permanent and illustrious, than they can in the pre- 
sent system of things. As there must always be in 
every nation rulers and ruled, the security and hap- 
piness of the latter will forever guarantee those of 
the former. 

23* 



y8 PRESENT statu; 

Should it be objected, that there could not be a 
change in these respects in Europe, without revolu- 
tions and effusions of blood : neither can things re- 
main in their present state without the same. There 
is one revolution upon the back of another ; there 
will be treasons, rebellions, and bloody wars. Ty- 
rants never had, and never will have rest. 

If the several governments in Europe would begin 
to effect this glorious reform, by opening to their sub- 
jects the fountains of knowledge — by setting before 
them the proper motives to virtue and industry, they 
would find domestic concerns sufficient to call their 
attention from foreign wars ; and the millions of 
money, employed in cultivating the art of war, would 
be employed in promoting the grandest objects of 
human happiness. 

But who shall begin this salutary work? What 
power — what potentate has magnanimity sufficient? 
No mention shall be made of virtue, they only want 
the knowledge of their interests, and the means of 
happiness is within their reach. 

INDUSTRY. 

There are but few industrious nations in Europe. 
iThe wealthy despise it ; and the poor have not the 
proper incentives to it. [ /l^he Dutch have, perhaps, 
been excelled by no European nation in this respect ; 
but their industrious days are over.i A rapacious 
and powerful master now stands ready to seize what 
they have got, and to anticipate what they may get 
hereafter. The Turks, the Italians, and the Spaniards 
are nearly on a footing as to industry. Among them, 
a soft, relaxing climate has completed all the idle and 
vicious habits, which their governments naturally in- 
duce. Their rulers seem determined that they shall 
have nothing ; and the people, lost to all ambition 
and sense of freedom and honor, have become will- 
ing, that it shall be so, and are willing to possess 



OF EUROPE. ;^9 

nothing : Ihej, therefore, live in a very poor, and, at 
best, in a precarious manner. With their present 
exertions, they would, literally, starve to death, did 
thej^ not live in very fruitful countries, where nature 
produces almost spontaneously for their sustenance. 

The people in the North of Europe are compelled 
to labor, or they must perish. But their toil is ill 
directed, and without any spirit of enterprise, although 
severe. They cannot work with courage, and sur- 
mount difficulties with cheerfulness, because they are 
strangers to the animating hope of acquiring wealth, 
or even a comfortable living. Whatever they get 
must go to pamper the pride of a haughty, tyrannical 
master, who can hardly be willing they should breathe 
the vital air without paying a tax for it. So stupid 
and extreme is the folly of the governments them- 
selves, that their exactions are an effectual check even 
upon the spirit of commerce; and all the means of 
the people, in general, to acquire any degree of opu- 
lence, are completely fettered. 

This is eminently the case in Sweden and Den- 
mark. Their governments know it ; their kings, their 
ministry^ their philosophers^ and all their statesmen and 
Tjcise men know it ; yea, and much more than all this, 
they zvell knozv, that while things remain in this state, 
they can never flourish. They must be poor, feeble, 
faint-hearted, and wretched, always ready to join the 
basest and most cowardly, but never capable of a no- 
ble enterprise. They know all this ; and yet they 
will, with their eyes open, strive to maintain the 
present^mad system. They will keep it up, till they 
are the scorn of Europe — till they share the fate of 
Poland — till their kings, ministry, statesmen, philoso- 
phers, wise men, and men of learning shall all fall a 
prey to their own preposterous folly — till they shall 
have their houses burned, their throats cut, their king- 
doms destroyed, and their territories sown with salt, 

Germany and France, while they have loaded in- 
dustry with almost insuperable burdens, have, it must 



100 PRESENT STATE 

be confessed, afforded some important encourage- 
ments, both as to honor and emolument. They 
have, on the whole, made it better for people to be 
slaves, than lazaroni : for, though they are almost 
squeezed to death by monstrous exactions, extortions, 
taxes, imposts, excises, customs, tolls, duties, rates, 
tithes, fees, rents, contributions, donations, tributes, 
and several other species of public demand, yet many 
industrious people are able, notwithstanding all this, 
to acquire wealth, and to attach respectability to 
thembelves and families. 

The English people excel all the rest of Europe in 
industry. There are no bounds set to enterprise ; 
and the farmers, tradesmen, and especially the mer- 
chants, avail themselves, to an amazing extent, of 
their advantages. This has long been their charac- 
ter ; and it has long been their salvation. Give a 
people knowledge, industry, and virtue, and they will 
flourish. Nothing can depress them. A national 
debt, as heavy as mount Olympus cannot sink them ; 
a revolution cannot crush them ; a tyrant cannot long 
hold them prostrate, any more than the strength of 
one can resist the strength of millions. 

TERRITORY. 

IVIost nations of every age have been ambitious of 
extensive territories. Hence originates the desire of 
conquest, by far the most fruitful source of war. The 
charge, that monarchies are addicted, more than 
other governments, to war and conquest, is by no 
means just. None of the ancient nations were more 
warlike or more greedy of conquest, than the three 
great republics of antiquity ; Greece, Carthage, and 
Rome. They seemed never satisfied, while any na- 
tion remained independent of them. The situation 
of Europe is best calculated t^or small kingdoms and 
states. Its several parts are remarkably separated by 
large rivers, mountains, straits, and seas, which serve 



OF EUROPE. 101 

to impede the progress of armies and check the rapidi- 
ty of conquest. If modern republics have been less 
warlike than ancient, it is because they have seen less 
prospect of being able to cope with their neighbors. 

No nation of very extensive territories ever long 
maintained its freedom. Rome cannot be brought as 
an exception to this rule, since it must be remember- 
ed, on the one hand, that the conquered provinces of 
that republic were governed with the most despotic 
sway, and on the other, that Rome, in fact, lost her 
liberties immediately upon the fall of Carthage. It 
will hence follow that republicanism is better adapted 
to small, than to large territories. It is hoped that 
the United States may form one lasting exception. 
We give so much credit to the doctrine, however, 
that we strongly question the policy of enlarging our 
territories. 

The Russian enlpire is the largest that ever exist- 
ed.* It includes a complete northern section of Eu- 
rope and Asia, and, according to some late calcula- 
tions, comprehends one seventh part of the habitable 
earth. This immense territory is governed by a most 
absolute, despotic sovereign. The Russians were 
little known, till the reign of Peter I. called the 
Great. He extended his arms and conquests over 
the barbarous tribes, which thinly inhabited the vast 
countries from the gulf of Finland to the sea of 
Kamschatka ; and from the Caspian to the White 
sea. The rivers, forests, and extensive plains he 
passed, presented him greater difficulties, than the 
defenceless people he conquered. 

The long, active, and glorious reign of the great 
Catharine was, in a good measure, devoted to the im- 
provement of this mighty empire : and she did much. 
She instructed and civilized her people ; she organ- 
ized a powerful and combining system of government, 
founded for the most part, on a humane and rational 
policy. 

* It is supposed, that the Russian empire is more than twiee as 
extensive as any other that ever existed, — En. 



102 PRESENT STATE 

But how vastly distant from civility, humanity, and 
happiness, are the numerous millions of that empire ! 
It is a country too large to be governed by any sin- 
gle mortal ; and it will, probably, one day, fall in 
pieces by its own weight, under some feeble reign. 
Indeed the rebellion of Pugatshef, in the reign of 
Catharine, had like to have rent it in pieces. 

The history of the reign of Catharine opens one 
of tlie most important scenes, found in the annals of 
nations. Few reigns were ever more prosperous ; 
and few monarchs ever governed with more consum- 
mate skill. She was loved and feared by her sub- 
jects : she held an extensive influence in the politics 
of Europe, both in war and peace ; and she was sur- 
rounded by a group, of great and very extraordinary 
characters. Such were the Orloffs, Potempkin, and 
several others. 

Were it made a question, what extent of territory 
is most conducive to national happiness and security, 
we should be at a loss how to answer it. Little in- 
struction could be drawn from experience. The 
histories of nations afford no certain ground for con- 
clusion. Empires and states of all sizes, from that of 
St. Blarino in Italy, which comprehended the inhab- 
itants of but one small village on a hill, to that of the 
empire of Russia, or of Ghonghis Khan, seem at all 
times to have owed their safety and happiness to far 
other circumstances than their size. An indepen- 
dent state sometimes owes its safety to its poverty : 
sometimes to the virtue of its neighbors ; but oftener 
to their weakness : sometimes to its own power and 
prosperity ; but oftener far to its virtue and industry. 
If size were of any account in the happiness or dura- 
tion of a state, certainly Poland would have been 
happy, and would not have been torn in pieces by her 
rapacious neighbors. Spain would be very powerful 
and happy, if power and happiness were the off*spring 
of territories both rich and extensive. The same 
may be said of Turkey, Germany and many others. 



OF EUROPE. 103 

Among the largest empirrs maybe reckoned those 
of Sesostris, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, 
Cesar, Ghenghis Khan, Tamerlane, Charles Y. and 
Peter the Great. Among the smallest which have 
made any figure, those of Tyre, Judea, Sparta, Pal- 
myra, Venice, and Britain. But from a careful atten- 
tion to the history of these nations, it will be difficult 
to determine, which have been the most happy or 
secure. Probably, however, Venice and Great Bri- 
tain, if we consider merely the condition of individu- 
als, have been surpassed by few. Nations consist of 
individuals ; and if the people of any nation are hap- 
py and prosperous, it is of little consequence to them 
what the extent of their empire is. A nation, con- 
sidered as a body, state, or empire, is not a creature, 
which actually exists, and that feels pleasure and pain. 
It exists no where but in idea ; nor even in that, if, 
as philosophers now mostly allow, there be no such 
thing as a general idea. A nation, in fact, is an 
aggregate of individuals, united under certain laws 
and regulations, for the purpose of mutual benefit. 
The great and only end of all national objects and 
measures, is properly the good of the individual : and 
apart from this, the terms national glory, honor, 
character, interest, &c. are high sounding words 
without meaning. 

If a nation in its collective capacity formed one 
great giant, as much larger than an individual as the 
nation is; and this giant had organs, understanding, 
affections, and passions, equal to his dimensions ; 
then might we talk of national jrlory, as a thing valu- 
able, and of importance to individual welfare. But 
certainly, if national gloiy is but the honor and re- 
spect which nations pay to each other ; and not to be 
purchased but by the palpable misery of a large pro- 
portion of its constituent parts* — such glory is rather 
a curse than a blessing to mankind. 

* U will be dillicult to prove that the happiness of individuals 
is at all promoted by the entertainment of this phantom. 



104 PRESENT STATE 



CONQUEST. 



If we except those of France, since the revolution, 
there have been few conquests in Europe, for the last 
five hundred years. The successes of the French 
under Bonaparte, as yet, hardly deserve the name of 
conquests. Their permanence in some measure de- 
pends on the life and fortunes of a single man. If 
the present emperor should, by any means, fail, or be 
removed, they would generally revert to their former 
state. A slight view of the geography of Europe, 
will show that it is favorable to the existence of small 
states ; and modern policy has erected a strong bar- 
rier against the ambition of heroes, and conquerors. 
Negotiations, treaties, and defensive alliances, have 
been carried to such a degree of perfection and to 
such an extent of refinement, that Europe has borne 
some resemblance to a society of individuals, in 
which the strength of the whole is exerted for the 
protection of individuals. How happy for man, were 
this system carried still farther — that nations would 
see it for their interest, not only to abolish conquest, 
but war — that they would be willing to settle their 
differences in a grand court of justice, like the am- 
phictyonic council. 

The moderns, however, have shewn as good an 
appetite for conquest, as the ancients ; but have had 
the precaution, in their own defence, to give origin 
and effect to a scheme of policy, which renders it far 
more difficult. Italy has been several times nearly 
Conquered within tive hundred years, but soon recov- 
ered. France was nearly conquered by Henry V. ; 
and Germany, by Gustavus Adolphus. Even Russia 
itself might have been overcome by Charles XIl. if 
he had not been a mad-man. So, Sweden and Poland 
were nearly subdued by Blargaret, the Semiramis of 
the North. Indeed, there is scarcelv a nation in 
Europe, that has not been in danger of subjugation 



OV EUROPE. 105 

but has escaped ; and, except Poland, no one of any 
considerable note has been conquered in Europe for 
the last 300 years. The conquest of the empire of 
Constantinople, by Mahomet the Great, is the last of 
any considerable importance, till the tornado of 
French republicanism arose. Where or when that 
will settle, is known only to Infinite Wisdom. 

^Conquests generally, though not always, ruin the 
conquered^ \If they are small, they cost the conquer- 
ors more than they are worth; if large, they often 
ruin them. Thus, as w^e have said before, the con- 
quest of Nineveh hastened the ruin of the Medes ; 
that of Babylon, the Persians. The conquest of Persia 
corrupted the Greeks, as did that of Carthage the 
Romans. Should the French, under Bonaparte, sub- 
due all Europe, France, which now forms a complete 
empire, would then be only a part of one : the seat 
of government might be removed, and she would be- 
come but a satellite : Bonaparte's successors might 
quarrel, and divide his dominions, as did those of 
Alexander ; and France might be liable to change 
masters, and be fleeced from time to time by various 
competitors for empire. In her present boundaries, 
France bids much fairer for independence, happiness 
and duration, than if she were to conquer Europe. 

England forms an exception to our rule. She rose 
more powerful, after being conquered by the Saxons, 
the Danes, and the Normans. Whether the effect 
"will be similar, should she fall under France, we shall 
not pretend to say. There has been one eminent 
instance in Asia, in which both conquerors and con- 
quered were equally benefitted. In 1644, the Tar- 
tars subdued China, and the descendants of Tamer- 
lane ascended the ihrone of that ancient and mighty 
monarchy. The ferocious Tartars gradually declined, 
or were lost in the immense population of China, and, 
in effect became the conquered people, by adopting 
the customs, and conforming to the manners of the 
Chinese. By this great conquest, the Chinese, grown 
29 



106 FRENCH HEVOLUTION. 

effeminate, were strengthened, and rendered war- 
like; the Tartars were civilized and reduced to a 
settled form of society ; perhaps both were equally 
benefitted, since, together, they form the greatest and 
nnost powerful monarchy in the world. 

There are several circumstances in the present 
state of Europe which are awfully portentous. Sev- 
eral of the primary powers have greatly declined in 
the course of the past centurj'-, particularly Spain, 
Germany and Turkey, which in the reign of Charles 
V. held a comiuanding eminence. Indeed with re- 
gard to Turkey, some great change seems to be im- 
pending. It is indeed mortifying to see the finest 
parts of Europe, the ancient nursery of the arts and 
sciences, from age to age, in the possession of a 
gloomy, savage race, insensible to the beauties, and 
incapable of appreciating the advantage of their sit- 
uation. 

They hold not only the great city of Constantino- 
ple, which has descended through the dark ages un- 
impaired, but, in general, all the remains of tine 
architecture in Greece and Asia Minor. Over all 
those classic grounds, held in such high veneration 
by the literary world, and from which, those who 
would wish to travel in quest of knowledge, are in a 
great measure debarred, the Turkish standard is still 
waving. 

FRENCH UEVOLUTIOX. 

The French revolution threatens more serious 
consequences to Europe, than any other since the 
fall of ancient Rome. It has utterly defeated every 
calculation and prediction excepting one. It was 
early foreseen and foretold, that it would injure, or 
rather would not help, the cause of freedom. The 
torrents of innocent blood shed in that horrid scene, 
could never fertilize the soil of lil:)erty and justice, 
Tiiose sacred names were used as a v\atch-word, to 



FRENCH REVOLUTION. 107 

commence an onset of tragic horror, at the sight of 
which Domitian or Comniodus would have relented. 
They have injured the cause of freedom, and they 
threaten to exterminate every principle of civil lib- 
erty. Where are aU the republics of Europe ? Where 
is Venice, Avho shielded Christendom from the Turks 
— who enriched Europe with her commerce ? She 
survived the league of Cambray, but to experience a 
severer fate : she escaped the rock, and is lost in the 
whirlpool : she is subjugated, enslaved, ruined, and is 
no more known among independent nations. 

Where is the once powerful and flourishing repub- 
lic of Holland ? Where the immense treasures of her 
bank, perhaps the richest in the world ? Where her 
powerful fleets, by which she wns able to dispute the 
empire of the sea v*'ith Great Britain ? Where her 
universal conimorco her public r.iedit — her import- 
ance, prosperity, and glory ? It avails her nothing, 
that she could once resist the arms of Philip il. and 
Lewis XIV. — that she has, by unparalleled industry, 
turned the most unpromising spot in Europe into a 
garden. Her sun is set ; her glory forever faded ; 
and she is humbled in the du<-t. 

Switzerland, situated among the rocks and declivi- 
ties of the Alps, a prize utterly unworthy of a great 
conqueror, is swallowed in the same gulf. The story 
of the brave and virtuous William Tell, must no 
longer be remembered. The days of liberty, inde- 
pendence, honor, and virtue are past ; and the Swiss 
cantons must, without complaint or remonstrance, 
submit to the mandates of a foreign master, or perish 
by fire and sword. 

The revolution in France has given the severest 
blow to the cause of civil liberty, that it ever received 
since the foundation of the world. By one tremen- 
dous shock, it has annihilated most of the lesser pow- 
ers of Europe ; and those which remain stand on 
doubtful ground. Trace over the map of Europe, 
and see what it presents. Turkey is in her dotage ; 



108 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

but were it otherwise, she is the hereditary foe of all 
Chrisiian powers — by her condition perfectly unable, 
and equally unwilling by her principles, to benefit her 
Christian neighbors. The Russians, under Count 
Romanzow, severely shook her foundations; and 
should the Gallic conqueror, point the thunder of his 
invading columns at her head, her triple crown would 
form but a feeble defence ; she must fall. 

Poland has conquered herself. She managed her 
affairs so feebly, that her more powerful neighbors 
judt^ed it incumbent on them to help her out of her 
difficulties, and, by their interference, to afford her 
that quiet, which she could not hope from her own 
energy and wisdom. They stepped in and performed 
an act, which Solomon himself, if alive, must confess 
to be a new thing under the sun. They dismembered, 
if wc look merely at natural advantages, one of the 
most powerful kingdoms in the world, and partitioned 
her off with nearly as little disturbance, as they would 
an uninhabited, unappropriated forest or island. 

Italy is conquered and provinciated. Germany in 
fact, is dismembered ; or, if that is saying too much, 
she is a huge, disjointed, unwieldly body, incapable 
of vigorous defence. She can place no confidence in 
her best armies. Her government is without authori- 
ty ; her officers are traitors : and her soldiers, cow- 
ards. A hundred thousand of them will stand still in 
their places, and suffer themselves to be cut down. 
The millions of Germany, though naturally brave and 
warlike, will flee before the standard of Bonaparte, 
as grasshoppers, in a mown meadow, before the 
strides of a giant. It is time that Germany were con 
quered. When the army of any nation or stale can 
conduct like the army of Mack, that nation or state is 
unworthy of independence ; it is fit for nothing but to 
be enslaved — to be made scullions of servants in the 
kitchens of their conquerors. One vigorous cam 
paign would be sufficient to enrol Germany with 
Holland and Italy, 



ijRRNCH REVOLUTION. 109 

Sweden and Denmark, though so loudly warned by 
the fate of Poland, their neighbor and ally, yet follow 
her example, and are far advanced in her path. The 
motto of their government should he^ride and povert^^ 
and that of their people, ignorance and misery. They 
can scarcely maintain their independence, though 
let entirely alone. They cannot resist the arms, nor 
have they much to allure the avarice of a conqueror; 
which last consideration will probably be their shield. 

Russia, from her local situation, cannot interfere 
effectually in the South of Europe. Her strength 
though great, is like the inertness of nature. She has 
vast power of resistance ; but is little disposed for a 
distant attack. 

Prussia has no longer the great Frederic at her 
head. Her short-sighted policy and feeble counsels 
will soon restore her to her former insignificance ; 
nor will she be thought worthy to hold the stirrup of 
the modern Cesar. In the present eventful struggle, 
which threatens the liberties of Europe, the conduct 
of the Prussian cabinet is matter of admiration to a 
distant, impartial spectator. Does Prussia possess 
and feel that reciprocity of condition, which will en- 
able her to share, with France, the empire of Eu- 
rope ? That surely is the language of her conduct. 
She might have given weight to a coalition ; but, 
when standing alone, a single campaign will make 
her an inconsiderable province of France. 

Spain and Portugal are independent only in idea, 
and on paper. Their sovereignty is substantially 
vested in France. For a century past,Ahey have 
been but the effigies of kingdoms : they have a name 
to live, and are dead.^ In the last stages of a linger- 
ing but irrecoverable decline, they exhibit one among 
many other proofs, that a nation may perish by far 
other means, than those of war and conquest. 

The western shores of Europe, from the mouth of 
the Elbe to the straits of Gibraltar, are all under the 
power of France. From those straits, her power ex- 



110 FRENCH REVOLUTION-. 

tends to the south point of Italy — from thence to the- 
head of the gulf of Venice, and from thence to the 
Rhine and Elbe ; comprel^cnding Portugal, Spain, 
Italy, Switzerland, France, part of Germany, the 
Netherlands, and the states of Holland. All these 
powers, if not provinciated, are in a state of degrada- 
tion, waiting, in trembling suspense, the uplifted blow 
which shall subjugate them forever. 

The revolutionary parties in France, in quick suc- 
cession, have rushed on, impetuous as a whirlwind, 
from monarchy to anarchy ; from anarchy to democ- 
racy ; from democracy to oligarchy ; and from thence 
to despotism ; which, of all forms of government, is 
probably the only one, under which they can live. 
They have already made more than one complete 
revolution. In the irresistible and mighty whirl of 
their affairs, they have brought to light a soldier of 
fortune, who unites the rapid genius and grand views 
of Alexander to the ambition and good fortune of 
Julius Cesar. He has, even though not a Frenchman 
hy nation, been able to curb, restrain, and direct the 
fury and pride of thirty millions of people, and to fix 
a double bridle in the jaws of mighty F'rance. In the 
midst of ilames, darts and daggers, he has founded and 
ascended an imperial throne, while thunders were 
bursting round his head, and volcanoes beneath his 
feet. He now reigns triumphant over conspiracies 
at home or coalitions abroad. 

Like the great heroes of antiquity, he has infused 
his own invincible spirit into his armies, which seem 
almost to rise out of the earth at the stamp of his foot. 
Let not Frenchmen complain of Bonaparte. He has 
done better for them, than they could do for them- 
selves, and has given them as good a government, as 
they are capable of receiving. 

There is but one power in Europe which can op- 
pose any barrier to the crowning of his ambition: 
that is found in Great Britain. The British have 
been growing powerful by sea for several ages. Their 



FRENCH REVOLUTION. Ill 

power, on the ocean, has at length become greater, 
than that of any other nation. Thej are masters of 
the whole world of waters ; and, in a regular course 
of events, they must first be conquered by sea, before 
they can be hy land. x\t present the fleets of Eng- 
land are superior to all the fleets of Europe besides. 
But gieat revolutions despise regularity, and delight 
in surprising mankind with unforeseen events ; and, 
in the revolution we have been considering, events 
have taken place, which evince the weakness of cal- 
culation or conjecture, and warn us to be prepared 
for great and sudden changes. 

The eyes of Europe, nay, of all nations, are now 
turned toward France and England. If we regard 
the passions, the motives, the interests and views of 
the parties, we cannot say less, than that the strug- 
gle, which has already been long and fierce, is ex- 
treme and tremendous. Its issue, which involves 
great consequences, is still covered among the deep 
designs of the Almighty. 

To an eye accustomed to view, in the affairs of na- 
tions, an overruling Providence, the French emperor 
cannot beconsidered otherwise thanas a special instru- 
ment of that Providence, the full designs of which no 
creature can foresee. It may be, that one end of this 
great revolution is to punish Christian nations for their 
astonishing wickedness and ingratitude, under all their 
privileges, which they have spurned and trampled 
in the dust: and, of course, that the wheel will con- 
tinue to roll, till those, whom God has maiked out as 
the objects of his anger, shall be sifted out and driven 
away before the rough wind of his indignation. 

Infinite Wisdom attaches less value and importance 
to states and empires than men do. To the All-seeing 
Eye, an empire is but a bubble ; even all the nations 
of men are but as the dust of the balance — a thousand 
years are but as one day, and one day as a thousand 
years. That Providence, whose wheels are high and 
dreadful, crushes^ in a moment, the grandest of human 



1 1 2 FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

institutions, whose foundations were deeply laid and 
strongly fortified, and whose superstructures have 
been rising and decorating for ages. 

To those who place confidence in the truth and 
reality of revealed religion, the present seems a nao- 
ment of peril and alarm to the old national establish- 
ments of Europe, whether civil or ecclesiastical. It 
is their almost universal belief, that the time cannot 
be far distant, when the Son of God is to put down all 
rule, and all authority and power, and set up his own 
kingdom throughout the world. Before this great 
event, there must be changes and revolutions ; and 
the Almighty Redeemer shall, in his own time and 
way, show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the 
King of kings and Lord of lords. 

Whatever may be the advantages and improve- 
ments of Europe, in its present state, (and they are 
many) we there see many reasons to deplore the folly, 
the depravity and the madness of our species. The 
life of man, when compared with endless duration, 
or even when viewed with relation to the important 
ends of his existence on earth, is very short. To 
see nations eagerly engaged in mutual destruction, 
laboring inces!>antly to push their fellow creatures 
from the stage of action, is shocking beyond expres- 
sion. Yet such seems to be the business of the prin- 
ci})al powers of the most enlightened and civilized 
quarter of the globe. They surely areas forgetful of 
their duty and destiny, as they are mistaken in the 
pursuit of happiness. How ill prepared are they to 
go from the crimes and horrors of the bloody field, 
into the presence of their final Judge ? 

Is the tide of ruin and desolation never to cease? 
Are the dark ages returning, with redoubled horror, 
upon mankind? or shall light and peace break forth, 
like the sun from behind a cloud? 

"Thoct only know'st — 

Thou, whose broad eye the future and the past 
Joins to the present, making one of thr«e.'' 



RUSSIA IN ASIA. 113 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE PRESENT STATE OF ASIA. 

THE people of Asia may be considered under seven 
grand divisions. The Russians possess the northern ; 
the Chinese, the eastern ; the Indians the south- 
eastern; the Persians, the southern; the Arabians, 
the south-western ; the Turks, the western ; and the 
Tartars, the central regions, of this great division of 
the globe. Our view of Asia, though very brief, will 
be two-fold. We shall tirst direct the eye of the 
reader to these grand divisions separately, with an 
intention to notice some of the peculiarities of each; 
and, secondly, we shall notice certain things in which 
they all agree ; and shall close with remarks applica- 
ble to the whole. 

I. RUSSIA IX ASIA. 

Few governments in the world are more despotic Y 
than that of Russia; and, for the last hundred years, 
that government has generally been in hands, which 
managed its proper machinery with incredible skill 
and energy. , From Petersburgh, the royal residence, 
situated at the liead of the gulf of Finland, this em- 
pire extends eastward to the amazing distance of 
several thousand miles, to the eastern ocean, or sea 
of Kamschatka. Yet, over so considerable a portion 
of the globe, the imperial mandates are spread with 
astonishing celerity, and are obeyed w ithout mur- 
murs or deiavs. 

The Russians of Asia are of a more mild and amia- 
ble character, than those of Europe. Their numerous 
tribes live in pleasant countries ; their towns and vil- 
lages being situated in extensive plains, and on the 
banks of noble and majestic rivers. It is said there 
is scare a bill of any considerable size from Peters- 



114 RUSSIA IN ASIA. 

burgh to Pekin ; and through those vast plains many 
rivers meander in various directions. Some late 
geographers say, there are no less than eight rivers, 
which run a course of two thousand miles. But the 
North of Asia, Hke that of Europe, still abounds in 
forests, many of which are of \ery great extent. 

The people in those extensive countries, are yet in 
a barbarous state, not very many degrees in advance 
of the savage.'^ They have no point of union, nor 
combination, but what is found in the powerful arm 
of government. They speak many languages, and 
are of many different religions ; for .(although the 
Christian religion and the Greek church are establish- 
ed in the empire, yet most of the remote provinces 
are still pagans, or, indeed, have no settled notions of 
the Deity, nor forms of worship. 

But notwithstanding many gloomy and forbidding 
circumstances in the condition of the Russian em.pire, 
(it is probably improving faster than any other part 
of Asia: or, to speak more properly, it is improving 
in some small degree; which can scarcely be said of 
any other part of that quarter of the globe. The 
peo[)le are becoming more agricultural; a regular 
commerce begins to awaken a spirit of enterprise; 
civility gains ground; the arts and sciences are 
spreading their benign influence in some very remote 
provinces. The great Catharine erected schools, and 
opened several missions in the provinces bordering 
on Kamschatka, and offered adequate encouragement 
to emigrants disposed to settle in those countries. 

The vast plains of Russia facilitate land carriage ; 
and her numerous large rivers render easy the trans* 
portation of their various commodities from one 
country and region to another. 

As early as the tenth century, the Russians make 
eome inconsiderable appearance in the histories of 
Europe. The ancient capital of the empire is Moscow. 
There every monarch must be crowned, before he 
c^an be acknowledged sovereign of ail the Russias. 



RUSSIA IN ASIA. 1 15 

But the empire was in a state of the utmost barbarity 
before the reign of Peter the Great. No monarch of 
modern times, or, perhaps, of any age or nation, ever 
did more for Iiis empire, than Peter did for his. He 
condensed the resources of a multitude of tribes ; he 
combined their strength in a regular plan of govern- 
ment ; he put a stop to their incessant wars among 
themselves; he exterminated innumerable banditti 
of robbers, which infested, and fearlessly ravaged all 
those countries ; he built cities, removed forests, caused 
the earth to be cultivated, settled the inhabitants of 
his empire in fixed places, and reclaimed them from 
the roving life and precarious subsistence of the Tar- 
tars. Peter did more than all this. He did not en- 
courage merely, but he originated the arts and sci- 
ences among his people. Pie built a city, which, in 
less than a century, merited a place in the first rank 
of cities. To that city, he invited, from all parts of 
the world, the most able mechanics, and the most 
(elegant artists, whom he encouraged with royal mu- 
nificence. Not contented with a most powerful land 
force^ he determined to be known on the watery ele- 
ment. With this view he became a ship carpenter, 
and worked v^ith his own hands in the shipyard ; he 
studied the art of navigation, and practised it ; he 
surveyed the shores and coasts of tlie Caspian sea, and 
drew, with his own hands, an elegant chart, which he 
presented to the museum at Paris ; in short, he raised 
his empire to the first rank among the powers of the 
world. 

There is something singular in the military charac- 
ter of the Russians, They are remarkable for pas- 
sive valor. It is said they will endure the greatest fa- 
tigues and sufferings with patience and calmness. 
They will resist better than make an onset; though 
it is certain that very few nations in the world pro- 
duce better soldiers than the Russian. They have 
had several considerable wars with the Turks and 
Persians, over both of whom they have gained great 



116 TURKEY IN ASIA. 

advantages. It has been thought they would expel 
the Turks out of Europe, and put a period to the Ot-* 
toman empire. Count Romanzow, in the reign of 
the great Catharine, defeated them in a series of bat- 
tles, carried terror and conquest almost to the heart 
of the empire, and filled the world with the fame of 
his victories. 

II. TURKS IN ASIA. 

We have already noticed the history of the Turks; ' 
but, in this place, it will be proper to regard them, a 
moment, as an Asiatic power : and, in so doing, we 
cannot avoid the reflection, how different the people 
in the East have fared, from those in the V/est of Asia. 
In the East, the empire of China, like a majestic lu- 
minary, has shone in glory uneclipsed and unrivalled, 
for 3000 years. In the West, the Assyrians, the 
Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Goths, the 
Saracens, and at last, the Turks have driven the 
ploughshare of destruction over the fairest provinces 
of the earth. To an eye or to a mind that can con- 
template 3000 years, as we can a day^ the people in 
the West of Asia must have appearedllike a nest of 
serpents, incessantly striving to destroj^ one another^ 
But ihe simile utterly fails ; for a nest of serpents, a 
den of tygers, the gloomy haunts where the deadliest 
monsters and dragons meet in concourse, are scenes 
of peace and friendship, in comparison with those 
wretched countries. 

After the wars of the Saracens and crusaders had 
spent their rage in W^estern Asia, the Turks, like an 
eruption of furies from the bottomless pit, overran 
those countries. They established four independent 
kingdoms, whose capitals were Iconium, Bagdad, 
Aleppo, and Jerusalem.' These institutions perished, 
after a while, h\ the furnace of their own vices ; and. 
from their ashes, the jOttornan Turks, about the be- 
ginning of the 13th century, arose, to complete the 



TURKEY IN ASIA. 1 1 7 

wretchedness of Western Asia, in which their terri- 
tories were much tlie same, as those of the Ronicins. 
The remnant of the ancient inhabitants of those 
once flourishing countries, are /now miserable beyond 
the powers of description. It will suilice to say, that 
they have no security of property or Hfe. The 
petty tyrants, to whom the grand seignior commits 
the governments of those provinces, exercise their 
vices and villanies without remorse and without re- 
i^straint. In Thompson's and Volney's travels through 
BSyria and Palestine, the character and condition of 
Blhese wretched beings are fully described. 

The condition of the Turks themselves is not a 
whit better than that of the other inhabitants. Thev 
are equally subjected to a barbarous tyranny, liable to 
similar extortion and injustice. '1 hey have nothing 
they can call iheir own — no right— no property — no 
security. They are liable to be muidered at mid- 
night by unknown messengers, and for unknown 
crimes ; or they may be strangled at mid-day, in the 
midst of their friends and families, without any con- 
sciousness of gtiilt — without any form of trial — even 
"without accusation or subsequent reasons assigned; 
"Mystery," says one of the above writers, "reigns 
round their habitations." All is fear, concealment, 
melancholy, and distrust; they are forced to conceal 
their food and raiment ; they dare not make any 
show of opulence ; for the possession of wealth would 
work their ruin. 

The Turks, considered in all the various traits of 
), their character, are probably the most unlovely of all 
#i nations. Their character is dark, unsocial, jealous, 
cruel, and beastly, in its tranquil state. They are 
strongly addicted to the rough and violent passions ; 
and when roused, their rage is vindictive, deadly, and 
horrid beyond expression. 

The Christians of Asia are generally in Turkey. 
Their state is truly deplorable. They are literally 
trampled in the dust; and the vilest of mortals reign 
30 



1 1 8 TURKEY IN ASIA. 

and triumph over them. They have but a name that 
they live, and are dead. Tiiey generally subscribe 
to the tenets, orratlierthe superstitions of the Greek 
church, but liave departed far from the standard of 
truth ; and their distance from the purity and simplici- 
ty of the gospel is immense. It is to be feared, that 
they retain little more than the name of Christianity. 

The provinces of Turkey in Asia, exhibit a melan- 
choly proof of the changeable nature of all human 
affairs : they witness, to every observer, that the most 
flourishing institutions may decay and perish forever. 
Those countries were once rich, powerful, and happy. 
They were blessed with a mild and genial climate ; 
they enjoyed freedom and prosperity ; they were 
among the most enlightened and wise of the human 
race: but how changed is the scene ! Such of their 
advantages, as a bad government could not destroy, 
nor a barbarous people annihilate, have become use- 
less, or arc altogether unknown. Their fertile fields 
have lain so long uncultivated, that their fruitfulness is 
forgotten. Their fine harbors are visited by few sails 
except those of foreigners. The ruins of their ancient 
cities and temples are stupendous proofs of the opu- 
lence and 2;lory of former ages, and of the degen- 
eracy and wretchedness of the present times. 

If the Turkish power in Europe, is on the decline, 
which is not to be doubted, it is much more so in 
Asia. The connexion between the parts of that exten- 
sive empire, is growing more feeble, and evidently 
declines with the energy of government ; a disease 
natural to great empires, whose distant provinces, if 
powerful and rebellious, will bring more expense, 
than profit, to their masters ; and, if weak and de- 
fenceless, will certainly not be worth defending. 

The government of the Turkish empire bears some 
faint resemblance to the feudal system ; but, in one 
important respect, perhaps more to that of the an- 
cient Romans. The revenues of the provinces seem 
to be farmed out. Each bashaw, or superior lord, 



ARABIA. 119 

undertakes to pay such a sum annually into the pub- 
lic treasury : and he has a province, district, or city 
allotted him, on which he is to levy that sum ; and, 
in fact, as much more, as his ingenious and merciless 
avarice can lay hold of. If the province is large, 
this bashaw or bey commonly parcels it out, in the 
same manner, to his vassals. Every species of op- 
pression and injustice, of cruelty and extortion, is 
practised, and has been, for so long a time, that the 
whole country is completely ruined, and, though 
naturally rich, has become one of the poorest in the 
world. By these means, the Turkish empire is fast 
declining, and, by one vigorous effort of some neigh- 
boring power, might be oveithrown. Thirty years 
I ago, it was thought the Russians would accomplish 
it. It is now laid out as a part of the future task of 
the modern Cesar. 

111. AIIABIAXS. 

We have already taken some notice of the origin 
and general history of the Arabians. A remarkable 
circumstance respecting them is, that they have never 
been conquered. For that, however, two very natu- 
ral reasons may be assigned : first, they have never 
possessed much, which was worth conquering, or 
could allure a conqueror — and secondly, the situation 
of their country is eminently secure from invasion, 
especially considering their mode of defence. Their 
country, which is upwards of a thousand miles square, 
forms exactly the southwest part of Asia, as Spain 
and Portugal do of Europe ; and is commonly divided 
into three parts, viz. Arabia Petraa, Arabia Deserta, 
and Arabia Felix. Arabia Felix, or the Happy, is said 
to be one of the most delightful regions upon earth. 
The truth is, these flattering accounts are more fre- 
quently taken from legendary tales, than from real 
facts. In such parts of Arabia as are well watered, 
vegetation is, indeed, luxuriant beyond conception; 



1^ ARABIA. 

and some of the most valuable odours and choice per- 
fumes are the produce of that country. The people 
generally live in tents, and, of course, their manner of i 
life is roving, like that of the Tartars and Scythians. 
Obtaining a precarious subsistence with little labor, 
they are addicted to every species of theft. They 
will receive you with kindness; entertain you with 
the utmost Fiospitality ; divide with you their last 
loaf; and then increase their store, by stealing from 
you all that you have. They seem to prefer not to take 
life ; but, on an emergency they will rob and murder. 

Arabia has been governed, at times, by powerful 
monarchs, who have brought great and very effective 
armies into the field ; and various attempts have been 
made to subdue and explore that country by their 
powerful neighbors. Arabia Felix is, indeed, a se- 
questered country. It is skirted round on all sides 
by seas and sandy deserts ; and the nature of the 
country and the modes of lighting practised by the 
Arabs, have rendered it difficult and dangerous of 
access ; and it has been regarded as a kind of mys- 
terious and forbidden ground. 

The last attempt to conquer this country was made 
by the Turks, commanded, if we mistake not, by 
Amurath II. about the year 1468. The haughty 
Turk, at the head of a great army, flushed with con- 
tinual victory, advanced into Arabia, determined to 
rend the veil which had long covered that country, 
and to know what was in it, and whether it was worth 
conquering. As he advanced toward the interior of 
the country, a herald, on horseback, met him, and 
warned him to retire, telling him, that though the 
Arabians had no war with the Turks, yet, if he ad- 
vanced farther, he would have reason to repent of 
his temerity. The sultan treated the message with 
contempt, and pushed forward at the head of his 
army. At length there was perceived a cloud of 
dust arising, and before the cause of it could be well 
discovered, his army was attacked by a formidabla 



ARABIA. 121 

column of 40,000 horse. Their approach was like a 
whirlwind ; and the Turks, already wearied with 
wading in the sand, were blinded and sufibcated with 
dust, and were cut in pieces without much resistance. 
The sultan mounted on a fleet horse, had the good 
fortune to make his escape, with a few of his guards, 
and recover his own dominions, and being fully satis- 
fied with one attempt upon Arabia, he chose rather 
to sustain his disgrace, than retrieve his honor by 
hazarding a second; 

The Arabian horses are famous for strength and 
swiftness ; and the men of that country arc excellent 
horsemen. So great is their dexterity, that it is said 
they will throw forward their lances and recover 
them from the ground, while on full speed. Their 
mode of fighting is extremely desultory, and their 
military tactics peculiar to themselves ; yet their at- 
tack is fierce and terrible, and can only be resisted 
by the most disciplined valor. 

The Arabic language is soft, liquid, and harmoni- 
ous, by reasrn ot an uncommon prevalence of vowel 
sounds. ISotwithstanding the singular character of 
this people, they have not been destitute of science. 
During the dark ages, the Saracens were, perhaps, 
the most scientific people in the world. They intro- 
duced learning into Europe. Several of the sciences 
they improved ; and they justly claim the honor of 
being the inventors of algebra, in arithmetic we 
follow them generally, and especially in the use of 
their numerical characters. 

It is both difficult and dangerous for Europeans to 
travel in that country. The hardships and perils to 
which they must be exposed, are very great. Of 
course the present state of the country cannot be 
very well known. We shall close on this article with 
remarking, how wonderfully fitted mankind are to 
sustain the inconveniences cf all climates. The Be- 
douin Arabs, in large collections or hordes, at certain 
seasons of the year, will visit the sea-ports and com- 
30* 



1 22 PERSIANS. 

mercial cities, for the purpose of bartering their corn- 
modifies, and procuring such articles as they need. 
When this is done, thoy pUingc again into the track- 
less regions of their native deserts, where they spend 
the year. But how thev live, or what they subsist 
upon, that Being only knows, who clothes the fields 
■with grass, and feeds the young ravens when they cry. 

IV. PERSIANS. 

The Persians alone, of the ancient empires in the 
West of Asia, have presei'ved and perpetuated their 
existence as an independent nation.* They were, 
indeed, subdued by Alexander, but that conquest, at 
last, terminated in the overthrow of the Greeks them- 
selves. Tlie Persians became surprisingly renovated, 
and were able, on the decline of the Greeks, to resist 
the arms of Rome, as well as those of the Scythians, 
Saracens, Turks and Russians. In the year of Christ, 
1750, tiie celrbrated Thamas Kouli Khan ascended 
the Persian throne, and was one of the most power- 
ful monarchs of his time. He invaded India, took 
Delhi, and returned to his own dominions, loaded 
with immense riches. No power ballled and defeated 
tlip Tuiks oftener, than the Pej-sians did ; and Emir 
liamzi, the famous Persian, was doubtless, the great- 
est warrior in Asia during Ids time. Had he not been 
crut lly murdered, as was supposed, by the order of 
his unnatural father, he would prohably have put a 
linal stop to the progress of the 'I'uiki&h aims. 

Ttie l^'rsians, as a nation, are brave, polite, civil, 
and courteous to strangers ; but extremely ostenta- 
lioas, vainglorious, and proud. Their country, like 
Arabia, can boast of some most pleasant and delight- 
ful places. All travellers speak in raptures of the 
richness, luxuriance, and pleasantness of the vale of 
Shiraus : but, in general, Persia is excessively dry, 

* i he Arabiuns can LardJy be con&id«red as a political Uodr. 
coustitutiug au empire. 



i 



PERSIANS. 123 

having (cw rivers, brooks, or springs of water. It is 
no easy matter to conceive, how the inhabitants ob- 
tain a sufficiency of water for necessary uses. They 
seldonf) have rain, and no country has a more arid 
atmosphere. 

Jn very northern chmates, dire necessity compels 
mankind to continual labor, to avoid perishing with 
cold and hunger. In the middle countries of the 
temperate zone, industry is partly necessary to sub- 
sistence ; but it is oftener prompted by honor and 
ambition. But as we approach the torrid zone, the 
earth produces more spontaneously ; where it is 
fruitful, it is abundantly so, and the people are able 
to live with little exertion. It is impossible, that the 
inhabitants of hot chmates, as for instance, of Arabia 
and Persia, should exercise the laborious industry of 
England and Holland : and, of course, tliey are pro- 
vided for without. It is however worthy of remark, 
and of gratitude to Providence, that in very hot cli- 
mates, great industry is rewarded with great profit 
and advantage ; as in the cases of ancient Carthage 
and Egypt. If the people of southern climates, adapt- 
ing their labors to the nature of their countries, would 
practise the industry of the north, empire, indepen- 
dence, and glory would soon return to those coun- 
tries they have long forsaken ; and would certainly 
give a preference to their ancient seats. 

To form a just estimate of any nation, it is neces- 
sary to look carefully into their int«rnal, as well as 
external state. Our views of the people of Asia, in 
these respects, must be imperfect and superficial at 
best. There is but little intercourse between the 
Persians and any nation of Europe. The wide dif- 
ference in language, manners, religion, and govern- 
ment, sets bars between them veiy difficult to pass* 
We cannot but believe, that the condition of the 

•great body of the people in Persia, is very miserable. 

jThe superstition, absurdities, and even vices of their 
religion, are extreme. Their government is cruel. 



124 TARTARY. 

capricious, and arbitrary. Many things are there 
sanctioned by custom, which in any part of Europe, 
would fill mankind with horror and rage, if we ex- 
cept Turkey : and even the Turkish government is 
less despotic than the Persian. 

People of fashion in this country, are graceful in 
their persons ; and although their complexion is 
somewhat darker than that of the European nations, 
yet their countenances, rather Roman than Grecian, 
are expressive, and often display the most delicate 
lines of beauty. But the common people, who are 
much exposed to the sun, are considerably swarthy. 

The Persians have neither greatly excelled, nor 
been greatly deficient in literature. The late justly 
celebrated Sir William Jones, the most skilful in Asi- 
atic learning of any European of modern times, has 
given some elegant specimens of Persian poetry in 
English translation. Tliey can, however, boast of no 
very great writers, either in poetry or prose. Not- 
witlistanding all their attainments, they must be con- 
sidered in the light of'barbarians ; and it is difficult 
to say whether they are now emerging from, or sink- 
ing deeper in ignorance and barbarity. 

V. TARTARY. 

The boundaries of Tartary have never been ascer- 
tained. The central regions of Asia, from time im- 
memorial, have been inhabited by numerous tribes 
of rovins; })eople. They have rarely been combined 
under one head, although that event is supposed to 
have taken place in the 13th century, under the reign 
of Ghenghis Khan, and again in the 15th, under Tam- 
erlane. These peuple were anciently called Scy- 
thians. Their character has been surprisingly uni- 
form in all ages. ' During the time of the four great 
monarchies, whose history has been sketched in the 
first volume of this v/ork, they were but too well 
known by their formidable irruptions into the civiliz- 



TARTARY. 1 25 

cd provinces of Asia and Europe; the first of which 
was in the reign of Cyaxares I. king of Media. 

Our best geographers state very little with cer- 
tainty concerning the vast countries of Tartary. 
Travelling in those countries is difficult and danger- 
ous ; and the nature of the intercourse kept up with 
them, by their more civilized neighbours, is not such, 
as to draw \cry satisfactory intelligence from them. 
They may be regarded as fruitful sources of regret 
and sorrow. From various circumstances and known 
facts, it is not to be doubted that the middle parts of 
Asia equal in richness and fertilit}^ and especially in 
pleasantness and beauty, any part of that continent. 
Though vastly distant from the ocean, the countries 
ai"e well watered, and extend almost the width of the 
temperate zone. They have numerous lakes, where 
numberless rivers and rivulets discharge their waters. 
There majestic rivers meander slowly through de- 
lightful and extensive plains. The verdure of an 
almost perpetual spring clothes their banks in peren- 
nial bloom and sweetness. Yet those fair scenes 
seem formed only to be seen by the eye of savages, 
never to be enriched by handsome villages and flour- 
ishing cities ; or made the charming abodes of sci- 
ence, virtue, order and humanity. 

The Tartars, though not entire savages, are but 
little better. They are very slovenl)' in their persons 
and dress, and have no notion of cleanliness, taste or 
order in their habitations. Their property consists 
chiefly in horses and cattle, of which some of them 
possess a great number. Their title to land is mere 
occupancy. When they have consumed the pastures 
of a particular place, they remove to some other. 
They claim no title to any place but what they pos- 
sess for the time being. In some places, however, 
they have habitations more settled, and do even live 
in cities. 

Tljey seem to have no reenlar or consistent no- 
tions of religion or government. They commonly 



1 26 INDIA. 

profess subjection to some chieftain, and in time of 
war, or upon an excursion for rapine, follow his 
standard ; but, as to the nature of their civil govern- 
ment, or whether thej have any, properly speaking, 
We are not prepared to say. They certainly have 
ideas of a distinction between right and wrong, on 
which they found certain maxims, resembling a code 
of morality ; but their penal code differs little from 
an indefinite rule of personal retaliation. 

There seems to be no prospect of their improving 
in either of the three important articles of religion, 
government, or civilization. We think ourselves war- 
ranted in sa} ing that they have not improved for the 
last two thousand years, in either of these respects. 

VI. INDIA. 

The river Indus gives name to nearly one quarter 
of the surface of the terraqueous g!obe.\ One of the 
great oceans, half the islands "in the world, nearly a 
quarter of the continent of Asia, and all the original 
inhabitants of the new continent; are called for it. 
The country of India forms the south part of Asia, 
as Russia does the north. North of it lies Tartary ; 
east and south, the Pacific and Indian oceans ; and 
west, the empire of Persia. 

Tlie wealth of India has, in every age, been even 
proverbial. So great is the fame of its wealth, that 
when we hear its name pronounced, we immediately 
think of a land of wealth. The riches of India con- 
sist in the natural fertility of the soil, which is height- 
ened and perfected by the best climates; the advan- 
tages of commerce and navigation 5 the greatest 
plenty of all the necessaries, conveniences, and luxu- 
ries of life; rich mines ; an abundance of gold, silver, 
and jewels; and a race of people who seem to be 
naturally virtuous,* honest, pacific, ingenious, indus- 

* It is ascertained that the Hindoos are generally at a great xq.'> 
move from virtue,— -Ejp, 



INDIA. 127 

trious, somewhat enterprising, and immensely nu- 
merous. In the course of their commerce, they are 
not fond of receiving the commodities of other na- 
tions in exchange for their own: they never pay 
money, nor make war upon other nations. 

Exclusive of the internal trade of India, that coun- 
try has, from the earliest ages, carried on two great 
branches of foreign commerce ; one by land and the 
other by sea. As from that country every thirjg valu- 
able, beautiful, rich, or useful was to be obtained, all 
commercial nations sought an interest in its trade. 
The Chinese, the Tartars, Persians, Arabians, Syrians, 
and Egyptians, traded with them by land ; and the num- 
berless commodities of India were transported by nu- 
merous caravans, on the backs of camels, dromeda- 
ries, mules, and horses, to very" distant nations. The 
wealth and glory of many ancient cities of Asia, rose 
from this trade ; of which the splendid and magnifi- 
cent city of Palmyra was once the grand mart and 
emporium. This city, situated between Arabia and 
Syria, bordering on the deserts, was once the deposit 
of the wealth of the east, from whence it was again 
dispersed through numerous channels to the west of 
Asia, to Europe, and Africa. This city, far more 
splendid, but less warlike than Rome itself, flourished 
for ages, and was at length destroyed by the emperor 
Aurelian. Its last monarch was the illustrious but 
unfortunate queen : Zenobia, whose counsels were 
directed by the celebrated Longinus, as already 
noticed, one of the last luminaries of Grecian lite- 
rature. 

The Phenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Sicilians, 
and Romans, and, in later times, the Italians and 
many other powers of Europe, have pursued the In- 
dian trade by sea. Till the Portuguese had doubled 
the Cape of Good Hope, the common voyage to India 
was from the ports of the Red Sea, through the 
jStraits of Babelmandel, and across the Indian ocean, 
[The majestic ruins of Palmyra demonstrate the for- 



128 INDIA, 

mer greatness of her wealth and comnnereial impor- 
tance : indeed the same remark applies to the great 
cities of Egypt — to Tyre, Sidon, &o. 

At present the naval commerce of India is almost 
engrossed by Great Britain, whose subjects, tributa- 
ries, or allies, extending far up the river Ganges, are 
said to comprehend some of the fairest and richest 
parts of India. The British trade to India has be- 
come the most lucrative, important, and dignified 
system of commerce ever carried on. It cannot, in- 
deed, be viewed without astonishment. The English 
people, by means of the Soutii Sea and India compa- 
nies, are able almost to command the wealth and 
credit of the globe. 

The interior parts of India, especially beyond the 
Ganges, are but little known. It is a very great 
country, and somewhat more mountainous, than the 
more northerly parts of Asia. The people of India, 
regarding the whole section of Asia called by their 
name, are probably among the most mild and pacific 
of all the human race. They never have been famous 
for war in any age. They have doubtless had wars, 
both foreign and domestic, and perhaps several, of 
which we have no knowledge. I hey have several 
times been invaded, in different ages of the world, as 
it is said, by Sesostris, Semiramis, Cyrus, Alexander, 
Ghenghis Khan, Tamerlane, and, of late, by the [Per- 
sians, under Thamas Kouli Khan. But the English 
invasion of India will be attended with the mosit se- 
rious consequences to that country ; and it is feared, 
with little good. Their conquests comprehend near- 
ly as great a territory and as many people, as they 
possess in Europe.* But if those conquests have in- 
creased the power of Great Britain, they have pro- 
duced a contrary effect on the unhappy Indians. 
They have quite altered the face of things in that 
country. The name of Hastings will descend to 

* The British subjects in Europe are supposed to be about 17 
millions ; those in India, about 90 millions. — Ed. 



INDIA. 129 

posterity blackened with indelible guilt and infamy ^ 
and it would be well for the English people if Has- 
tings were the only man, who has been guilty of ex- 
ercising cruelty, extortion, and outrage upon the de- 
fenceless Indians. 

Hastings, after remaining long enough in power, 
in India, to amass a princely fortune — after practising 
the most horrid, outrageous cruelty, and every crime 
which can blacken and deform the human character, 
returned, in triumph, to his native CQuntry, to enjoy 
in quiet the spoils of innocence, and rt) riot in luxury 
on the fruits of extortion. A feint was made towards 
bringing him to justice : but what was the issue? In- 
stead of sneering an infamous death for crimes 
worthy of eternal perdition, his wealth enabled him 
to set justice at dehance ; his infinite turpitude was 
gilded over with a title of nobility, and he became 
lord Hastings, 

The English conquests in India will probably be 
attended with disastrous consequences to that country. 
The Indians will directly lose all motives to industry; 
and, in addition to their own constitutional and na- 
tional vices, they will learn those of their cruel con- 
querors and unjust oppressors. Industry and enter- 
prise can onl} go hand in hand with liberty and jus- 
tice. Those people, finding themselves oppressed, 
insulted, crushed, and forever abandoned to hopeless 
slavery and misery, will give up all as lost — will 
become utterly useless to themselves and others, 
and regard death as the only alternative of hope. 
The country will grow miserable and poor ; and will 
follow the footsteps of Carthage, of Egypt, and of all 
Western Asia. Trade will gradually fall ; and the 
wealth and abundance of those countries exist only 
on the page of history. Should they change masters 
they would still be the losers; stiould Great Britain 
fall, even independence might re-visit India too late. 
What advantage could Egypt or Syria reap from the 
fall of the Turkish empire .? Nothing but the slow 
31 



130 INDIA. 

revolving wheel of numerous ages, or the more imme- 
diate intervention of almighty power, can restore 
those unhappy countries. Belore any probable or 
natural* course of events can restore the West of 
Asia to what it once was, it is probable the destiny of 
the earth itself will be complete, and the wheels of 
nature cease to move. 

The Indian character and temper seem very mild 
and placid; yet no people are more inveterate or 
more obstinate in their religious prejudices. With 
them, religion is, properly speaking, the property and 
business of a particular class or set of people. The 
rest neither know, nor are allowed to know or care 
any thing about it. They have certain notions of 
Deity, of futurity, and of virtue and vice. The peo- 
ple at large are required to perform a certain rotine 
of duties, consisting chiefly in useless formalities, and 
unmeaning or ridiculous ceremonies: but as to the 
great business of intercourse with, or knowledge of 
the Deity, it is wrapped in mystery, and belongs to 
the priests or bramins. 

The immense country of India, from the river Indus 
to the eastern ocean, was probably never united un- 
der one government. Its present state is not clearly 
known to the best of our geographers. Monarchy is 
the only kind of government existing in ariy part of 
Asia; but, in India, it seems to be of a less fierce, 
cruel, and despotic nature, than it is in the west. 
The most predominant crime among the Hindoos is 
said to be suicide. They have little fear of futurity, 
and are impatient of present evils : they therefore 
take, as they suppose, the directest way to get rid of 
them. 

When shall they become free, enlightened, and 
happy ? As far as we know, they rather degenerate 
than improve. In the time of Cyrus the Great, they 
were more enterprising, and probably far more power- 

* The iuitlior undoubtedly believed, that by the g^race of God, 
this wretched country .^rould ere Jouij rejoice and blossom as the 
rose. — £p. 



CHINA. 1 3 1 

All than they now are. Under the command of Porus, 
they made a formidable resistance to the conquering 
arms of Alexander; but now three or four British 
regiments will strike terror through India, subdue 
their most powerful princes, and levy contributions 
on their most opulent provinces. 

VII. CHINA. 

The Chinese are truly a wonderful people; and 
China, in various respects, is the most extraordinary 
empire that ever existed. Whether we regard length 
of duration, number of inhabitants, their uniformity, 
steady economy, and amazing industry, the world 
has never furnished a parallel to China. 

According to the best accounts, which can be ob- 
tained on the subject, C^iina has been a great and 
flourishing empire nearly 3,900 years. She has held 
one steady and dignified course, while the nations in 
the west of Asia and Europe have been fluctuating 
like waves, and expiring like meteors in a troubled 
skv. 

The accounts given of the population of China, 
though seemingly credible, are perfectly astonisliing. 
There are said to be above three hundred millions of 
people in that empire — of course more than one third 
of the inhabitants of the whole globe.* But China 
possesses every advantage necessary to sustain a 
great population. Nearly as large as half of Europe, 
her territories lie in the pleasantest part of the tem- 
perate zone, and abound in many of the most useful 
productions of the earth. China produces whatever 
might be expected from an excellent soil in the highest 
state of cultivation. Such is the unparalleled in- 
dustry and diligence of this people, that their coun- 
try, though more than 1200 miles square, is all under 
the most advantageous improvement. They suffer 

* The inhabitants of the Chines^e empire amount probably to 
about 185 millions. See Worcester''s Gazetteer and Geography. 



132 CHINA, 

no land to lie waste. Their steep side-hills and 
mountains, even to their summits, are tilled with as 
much care, as we till our gardens. The very mild 
winters which prevail in the middle and southern 
parts, rfmder their subsistence attainable with far 
less labor and expense. They have no need that, 
their country should be half covered with forest to 
supply them with fuel. 

The Chinese subsist more on farinaceous food than 
the Europeans. Their country produces vast quan- 
tities of rice, which forms the chief article of their 
diet, and is a most nutritive and agreeable kind of 
food. Regularity of life, industry, subordination, and 
a particular cast of genius, form the discriminating 
traits in the Chinese character. In many nations, 
and especially in Europe, there is a certain uneven- 
ness of mind, an instability and eccentricity of char- 
acter, which renders mankind lickle, rash, volatile, 
and often pertidious. The Chinese have less of this 
than any other nation. Their habits, customs, and 
modes of life are laid on such solid foundations, and 
have, for an uninterrupted course of nearly forty 
centuries, acquired a maturity and permanence, which 
will be broken up only with their empire. 

Europeans who have seen the interior parts of i 
China, are astonished with the marks of their indus- 
try, which appear in every thing that strikes the eye. 
The vastness of their cities, their highways, their 
bridges of amazing form and construction, and es- j 
pecially their canals, exceed those of all nations, i 
The country is peculiarly favorable* for canals ; and j 
it is intersected and cut into almost numberless , 
islands, by those beautiful, artificial rivers. Many of 
their vessels are a kind of floating houses, which can 
carry sail, in which families live, are brought up, and 
transact all their business. 

The face of their country is formed by spacious 
plains, and regular hills, with some mountains. The 
suburbs of their great cities are formed by large and 



CHINA. lS3 

populous villages ; and their villages, overspread all 
the country ; so that you scarcely know what is city, 
and what is country. The country at large resem- 
bles an unbounded continuity of flourishing towns and 
villages. Their style of building is not very superb; 
yet, in the article of house-painting, no other nation 
equals them. Their houses are covered with paint 
which appears like varnish or japan work, which 
gives them a glossy brightness, and will resist the 
sun and the weather. The internal structure of their 
houses is far inferior to those of our own country. 
But there are certain evils which, at limes, result 
from their immense population. In spite of all their 
industry they are considerably liable to a scarcity of 
provision. 

The people of China are divided into various or- 
ders, among which an invariable, absolute subordina- 
tion reigns. These classes know, perfectly well, their 
rank, their privileges, and their duties. They seldom 
interfere with one another; nor does any person rise 
to a higher rank, unless it is by some uncommon oc- 
CQrrence. The various orders of people are distin- 
guished by the color and fashion of their dress; and 
what is very remarkable, tlie dress of all ranks and 
orders is regulated by lavv. 

The Chinese monarchy, though absolute, seems to 
be the mildest, and perhaps is the wisest in the world. 
It is in a great measure patriarchal. The sovereign 
is legarded as the father of his people. He consults 
their interest, endeavours to promote their liappi- 
ness; and they, in return, seldom resist his will. The 
government is extremely jealous of the powers of 
Europe; and with great reason. The late English 
embassy, conducted by lord iMacartney, proved utter- 
ly useless. The emperor of China, after having gra- 
ciously received, and for a while entertained the En- 
glish embassador, gave him a kind of tablet, on which 
was written certain moral and civil maxims of advice 
respecting the conduct of kings, and desired him to 
31* 



134 ASIA 

present it to his master, the king of England, as a 
token of his friendship. 

The Chinese despise the idea of receiving im- 
provements from other nations, and especially from 
Europe. In religion, government, art, and science, 
they adhere firmly to their ancient customs and max- 
ims. Their religion is a mixture of superstition, 
idolatry, and ceitain moral maxims and rules drawn 
from the institutions of Confucius, their ancient law- 
giver. 

The conduct of the Jesuits and other Romish mis- 
sionaries, was the cause of closing and barring the 
doors of China against all Christian nations. They 
were found to be interfering with the government and 
internal policy of that country, and of course were 
forever debarred all intercourse. That was a most 
unfortunate event, as it fixed in the minds of the Chi- 
nese, a prejudice not soon to be wiped away, 

VIII. ASIA IN GENERAL. 

1. It is time we dismiss the consideration of par- 
ticulars, and take a more general view of this noble 
and important quarter of the earth. The Almighty 
Creator and Governor of the world, has distinguished 
and diiLinified Asia above the other grand divisions of 
the globe, in various respects. Here the grand pro- 
genitors of the human race began to people and re- 
plenish the earth. Here the delightful bowers of 
Paradise diffused their fragrance and displayed their 
beauty. Here the first empires were founded, and the 
first principles of social order and civil combination 
began their career. From this, as from a central 
point, the first families of the earth were spread 
abroad, and grew into nations and kingdoms. Here 
the mighty work of redemption was accomplished, by 
the incarnation and death of the Son of God, to bring 
about which was the ultimate design of creation and 
Providence: and here was first set up that kingdom 



IN GENERAL. 135 

which is to endure throughout all generations, and 
which is finally to fill the earth with its glory. 

2. As Asia is the largest of the grand divisions of 
the globe, so it, in general, possesses the most excel- 
lent soil, and the fairest and most regular climates. 
It produces, accordingly, every thing useful, valuable, 
rich and beautiful. The most important and useful 
kinds of grain ; all the precious metals ; a great vari- 
ety of most valuable jewels ; the richest silks ; the 
most excellent drugs and medicines ; and in a word, 
all the necessaries, and all the luxuries of life, are 
there obtained in the richest abundance, and many 
of them with little labor or expense. 

3. Asia seems to have been a region best adapted 
to the culture of the human species. We infer this 
from a remarkable fact, viz. that the savage nations 
of Europe, Africa, and America are, and have been 
in every age, far more savage, and sunk much deeper 
on the scale of reason than those of Asia. Indeed, it 
has been affirmed by some, that a savage nation never 
existed in Asia. The Scythians and Tartars were 
nearest to a savage state ; but how far, indeed, were 
they above that state in several important respects. 
Their skill and power in war have been far superior 
to those of savages in the other quarters of the world. 
They nearly conquered the Medes and Persians 5 
and were always a terror to the Greeks and Romans. 
Their invasions have been conducted with a deep 
policy, and their battle was always terrible. 

4. The Asiatics are generally of a milder and more 
pacific and amiable character, than most other na- 
tions. This is very perceivable in the Russian em- 
pire, as soon as you pass out of Europe into Asia : you 

' observe milder manners, and even a more soft and 
engaging countenance, together with more hospitali- 
ty, and urbanity of treatment. The Persians and 
Hindoos are graceful and elegant in their form, and 
I their deportment is politely civil ; indeed, Persia 
j .may, in ^ome respects, be called the France of Asia. 



J 36 AS) A 

The ground we have taken in this article, is justified 
by comparing the wars of Asia with those of the 
other parts of the world. 

A few great conquerors, in distant ages of the 
world, have nDade considerable commotions, hut in 
regard to wars, when did Asia ever resemble Europe 
in the limes of Alexander, Cesar, Constantine, Char- 
lemagne, Lewis XIV. or Napoleon ? When was Asia 
seen in the state, in which Europe has been for ten 
years past? Should it be objected, that they are 
pacific, because they are ignorant; for the sake of 
peace then, let all nations become ignorant as soon 
as possible. But that is not a fact. It is not owing 
to their ignorance. The governments of China, In- 
dia, Persia, and Arabia kciow as well the state of 
their neighbors, as those of Europe do. 

According to the tenor of the above objection, it is 
much best for nations to be ignorant. If knowledge 
will set men to killing one another with diabolical 
rage and infernal malice ; yea, if it will make men, 
in this respect, worse than devils, it had better be let 
alone. Our Sariour affirms, that there is a degree of 
union in Satan's kingdom ; and a great poet declares, 



** Devil with devil damnM, firm concord hold — 

"^ Men ou]y disagree, of creatures rational." — Miltow. 



I 



5. That the nations of Asia have never sunk s6 
low into a savage state as many others, seems to be 
owing to their very great natural advantages, of 
which, if they had made a proper improvement, they 
might have risen to an astonishing height of loarn- 
ing, wisdom, and virtue. But here they have failed. 
On the soft bosom of luxury, they have been hushed 
to a long and inglorious repose. Their eyes seem 
forever shut to all true and solid glory. They never 
once look up to that distant and lofty summit, to 
which man may rise by energy — by perseverance, 
integrity, and virtue. They place the sum of happi- 
ness in rest — a most foolish and absurd philosophy, 



IN GENERAL, 137 

equally opposed to reason, virtue and the nature of 
all intelligent beings. 

i 6. Monarchy prevails every where in Asia, and 

• that in its simplest form. It seems in vain to talk of 
natural advantages, when it is certain, there is no na- 
tion in all this immense region, w^iich has any proper 
knowledge or use of its inherent rights. Natural 
rights may as well not exist, as to be neither known 
nor enjoyed ; and such is the uniform condition of 
the people of Asia. If, in any case, the strictness 
and energy of despotism fail, it is not owing to the 
lenient influence of reason and virtue, but it is where 
governnient gives way to anarchy ; and all principles 
of order fail before ignorance, vice and barbarity. 

Nor is man there more ignorant of his own rights, 
than he is of the true character of his Maker, and of 
his duty and obligation to him. There are still some 

I Christian churches in Asia ; but, for the most part, 
they have little of Christianity but the name. In 
contemplating Asia, we have before us a vast region 
of mental and moral darkness. There are few cir- 
cumstances, which look like the dawn of improve- 
ment ; and, from all we can discover, this whole 
quarter of the globe is undergoing a gradual decline 
toward a state of barbarity. To this observation, 
however, Russia, certainly, if not China, forms an 

; exception. It is highly questionable whether the 
increasing intercourse of Europeans with the eastern 
Asiatics is of any valuable tendency to the latter. 
The horrid wickedness, on every occasion, displayed 
by Europeans, has fixed in the minds of those nations 
invincible prejudices against their government, gene- 
ral character, and especially against their religion. 

It is a melancholy reflection, how little the con- 
duct of Christian nations has been calculated to re- 
commend their religion to their unbelieving neigh- 
bors. Will heathens judge of the nature of Chris- 
tianity by the conduct of a few solitary individuals? 
or will they be more likely to draw their conclusions 



138 ASIA IN GENERAL. 

from the conduct of a nation ? What conclusion^ 
then, must the Chinese, Indians, and islanders, draw, 
concerning the Christian system, from the conduct 
of such Europeans as have visited their countries; as 
of the English, Dutch, Portuguese, &c.? They must 
conclude Christianity to be a cloak for every species 
of villany — to be but another name for cruelty, in- 
justice, dishonesty, intrigue, perfidy, and every crime 
that is atrocious and enormous : and of all religions 
in the world, thev must think it the worst. 

It is not strange that the missionaries, sent into 
those countries to preach the gospel, have met with 
impediments, and that their success has been small. 
It is rather astonishing, that they ever, in one in- 
stance, got a candid and patient hearing. The In- 
dians, especially, have a strong attachment to their 
own religion, handed down from their ancestors ; and 
what reason they have to detest and abhor the people 
of Europe, is a matter notorious to the universe. 

It seems to be matter of regret, that the fair and 
spacious realms of Asia should lie, from age to age, 
void of intellectual culture ; that the human mind 
should there be fettered by the absurdest supersti- 
tions, and inflated with error and falsehood, instead 
of being expanded and enriched by the divine, im- 
mortal food of knowledge and virtue, drawn from the 
fountain of eternal perfection : but so it is. These 
things are governed by an unseen hand. The time 
may come, when the face of the moral, and, of course, 
of the natural world shall be changed. When the 
wilderness and solitary place shall blossom like the 
rose — when all the families and nations of the earth 
shall be of one mind, and shall allay their thirst at 
the same pure fountain of heavenly wisdom. 

The Indian shall then no longer adore the sun, 
nor think to wash away his moral pollutions in the 
stream of the Ganges. The Abyssinian shall no 
more worship the father of waters; nor the arctic 
savage the genius of storms and darkness : but alt^ 



PRESENT STATE OF AFRICA. 139 

nations shall adore one God, submit to his moral gov- 
ernment, rejoice in his perfections, and confide in his 
grace. May that time soon arrive — may the changes 
which must prepare its way be hastened, till HE 
shall come whose right it is to reign. 



CHAPTER XII. 

PRESENT STATE OF AFRICA. 

THE continent of Africa is shaped like a pyramid, 
whose base is washed by the Mediterranean sea — its 
western side, by the Atlantic, and its eastern, by the 
Indian ocean ; while its point, or apex, projects south- 
wardly into the great South Sea. This vast penin- 
sula is joined to Asia at its north-east corner by the 
isthmus of Suez, about 60 miles over : it extends from 
37 degrees north, to 34 degrees south latitude, and 
from about 17 west, to 51 degrees east longitude, and 
is 4,300 miles long, and 3,600 miles wide; and is 
supposed to contain 8,506,208 square miles. 

The commercial advantages of Africa, in point of 
local situation, may well compare with those of the 
other quarters of the globe. Its proximity to the 
great oceans and their numberless islands, and its 
position with respect to the other continents, all de- 
clare its situation to be highly favorable for every in- 
terest of commerce. It lies in the boscm of the At- 
lantic, Southern, and Indian oceans. Asia and the 
East Indies stretch eastwardly of it, and are accessi- 
ble either through the Indian ocean, or from the Red 
Sea through the straits of Babelmandel. From the 
northern shores of Africa, all the Mediterranean lies 
in view ; nor was it a tedious voyage for the Africans 
to go into the Black Sea ; and, from the straits of 
Gibraltar, they coasted with ease along all the west 
of Europe, even to the Baltic or Norwegian seas. 



140 PRESENT STATE 

If their commercial advantages are great, their ag- 
ricultural are, or at least once were, if possible, still 
greater. All ancient history speaks in the highest 
terms of the extreme fertility of the lands of Africa. 
We cannot say positively whether this fertility was 
universal ; but it undoubtedly was common to all the 
northern shores. It is at least possible that the con- 
tinent of Africa was once as deeply clothed with veg- 
etation as tiiat of South America, though, indeed, not 
very probable. The continual action of an almost 
vertical sun, for many ages, may have effected great 
changes in the nature of the soil. From many late 
observations, it appears that the sands of Africa have 
spread farther north, and are making gradual en- 
croachments on the fertile countries of Egypt and 
Barbary. Those countries, of course, grow more in- 
hospitable, and more thinly inhabited. 

This country abounds in the precious metals, and 
In many valuable natural productions. It may be 
callud the region of animal life ; since there are more 
than double the number of species of animals in it, 
that there are in the other quarters of the globe. 
Egypt and Carthasje were both, in their turn, great 
and powerful. Science first rose in Egypt ; and Car- 
thage held a very doubtful contest with Rome for 
universal empire. Happy indeed it was for the 
world, that contest terminated as it did. 

But whatever Africa could once boast — whatever 
may have been its natural advantages, it now presents 
to the oye of the traveller, one uniform, immense 
region of ignorance, vice, l:>arbarity, and misery. If 
we enter that continent by the istlimus of Suez, Egypt 
first receives us ; which, to speak in the true spirit 
and style of ancient prediction, is a base kingdom. 
Still elevated by some faint glimmerings of civiliza- 
tion above the rude savage, the people there have 
just knowledge enous^h to reiider more conspicuous 
their depravity. They exhibit an astonishing speci- 
men of the effects of bad government, and of the do- 



OF AFRICA. HI 

structive tendency of corrupt morals. Perhaps no 
nation is more miserable, than the Egyptians. They 
seem to be crushed under every species of tyranny, 
and have no spirit left either to assert their rights, or 
avail themselves of any one advantage they so con- 
spicuously possess. 

Proceeding from Egypt to the source of the Nile, 
among the mountains of Abyssinia, there is a change 
of prospect ; but it is going only from bad to worse. 
The traveller has evidently made an advance toward 
that degradation of intellect, wliich marks the mere 
savage. The people of Abyssinia, are overwhelmed 
in vice, void of the cultivations of science: they are 
sunk too low to be susceptible of much government. 
They are, as a nation, a cruel, ignorant, vile, un- 
cleanly race. 

From Abyssinia, descending down the eastern 
shores of Africa along the coast of Zanguebar to Caff- 
raria and the cape of Good Hope, the prospect, as 
far as known to travellers, is nearly the same. 

From the cape of Good Hope, passing up the west- 
ern shores of Africa, they are found no better than 
the eastern. In this western tour, lies the coast of 
Guinea; those countries, where Christian nations 
have carried on a traffic so highly honorable to their 
name and character ; and wliere they have a town 
or fort, called Christiansburgh ; a name wonderfully 
adapted to the nature of the business transacted theref 

From the slave and gold coast, proceeding north- 
ward, the great rivers Cilambia and Senega, or Sene- 
gal, are passed, and the states of Barbary next re- 
ceive the traveller, wearied with roving through 
scenes of barbarity, wretchedness, and darkness. 
Turning eastward, he passes the states of Barbary 
and Egypt, once fine and flourishing countries : but 
now what are they ? How low are they fallen. 

The central parts of Africa are unknown. '. The 
desert of Sahara is an immense region of sand, over 
which refreshing showers of rain never distil their 
32 



142 PRESENT STATE 

copious blessings; nor does the bow of heaven dis- 
play its beauteous arch on the retiring cloud. There 
the verdant meadow, the flowery vale, and the wav- 
ing forest, are never seen ; the tinkling rivulet is 
never heard ; nor does the murmuring brook invite 
the traveller to repose on its shady banks : but there 
the hot and sultry winds, in furious tornadoes, hurl 
the sandy billows to the heavens, and sport in fearful 
showers and storms of dust. Instead of the music of 
birds — instead of the sweet and solemn serenade of 
the nightingale, those gloomy deserts resound with 
the roar of lions and tygers — the deadly hisses of 
serpents, and the horrid bowlings of nameless dragons 
and frightful monsters. Those dreary climes have 
furnished a grave for a number of enterprising travel- 
lers. The expectations of the public were highly 
raised from the known abiHties and daring spiiit of 
the enterprising Mungo Park. Much information 
was expected from his travels in the interior of Afri- 
ca ; but he has fallen a prey to the merciless barbar- 
ity of those faithless savages. Mungo Park deserves 
a monument among heroes, sages, and philosophers. 

The northern shores of Africa, generally called 
the States of Barbary, are of the Mahometan religion. 
Ethiopia and Abyssinia have something which re- 
sembles, but very remotely, (the Christian religion. 
The middle and southern parts are pagan. As to 
government, the most complete and barbarous despo- 
tism /reigns in every part of Africa. Though ancient 
Egyj)t may be regarded as the cradle of science, yet 
in her maturity, she has long since forsaken every 
part of Africa, and left even Egypt to the gloomy and 
horrid reign of superstition, ignorance, and barbaritj-. 

The middle and southern nations of Africa, are ut- 
terh^ incapable of projectitig or accomplishing any 
important enterprise. They spend their strength 
and exhaust their rage^n petty, but cruel and exter- 
minating wars upon each other. Their captives they 
either kill, and^ it is said, devour, or sell to the very 



OP AFRICA. 143 

humane and merciful navigators of Europe and 
America; who bring and sell them for slaves to the 
philanthropic republicans of the United Slates 1 
where they are bought and sold, and treated with as 
little tenderness and mercy, as brutes» How conso- 
nant this practice is to the rules of the Christian 
religion, or of a free government, and how likely to 
inspire those unhappy beings with respect for the one 
or the other, let the impartial mind judge. 

While unprincipled navigators are thus dragging 
the wretched Africans from one scene of misery to 
another still more lingering and dreadful, the northern 
shores of that continent produce a race of men far 
more hardy and daring ; who, as if to avenge the 
quarrel of their countrymen, are the enemies of all 
Christian nations; whose ships infest the seas, and 
whose robberies and piracies are dangerous to many 
nations. With regard to a proper mode of treatment 
of the Barbary powers, there seems to be but one 
alternative ; either their friendship must be purchased 
with frequent and large donations, or they must be 
conquered and disenabled to continue their aggres- 
sions. 

But with regard to the slave trade, root and branch, 
first and last, in all its motives, -measures, concomi- 
tants and consequences^ if ever any human undertak- 
ing merited the deepest abhorrence of men, and the 
heaviest curse of Almighty God, it is surely that. 
When we reflect on the pangs which those poor 
wretches must feel, who fall into the vortex of this 
infernal traffic, when they see themselves plunged 
into hopeless slavery, and where, if either they or 
their posterity should ever gain their freedom, still 
their color must sink them utterly below all consid- 
eration and respect, humanity must bleed for them. 

The atrocity of the business is enhanced by the 
various, continual and monstrous cruelties inflicted 
on them for the slightest faults, and, indeed, can it be 
thought §trange, if their deplorable circumstances 



144 PRESENT STATE 

should often drive them into the most desperate 
crimes and outrageous misdemeanors ? The great 
and awful catastrophe of this perfidious commerce, 
is still among the events of futurity : for, let it not be 
considered as an idle and groundless surmise, the im- 
portation of slaves in such numbers, into this country, 
will, on some future day, affect the repose of the 
United States. 

The continent of Africa has few rivers or moun- 
tains. The principal mountains are the Atlas, which 
gives name to the Atlantic ocean. Sierra Leona, and 
the Mountains of the Moon. The chief rivers are 
the Senegal, Gambia, Niger, and the Nile; and there 
are few brooks and springs of water. A country 
poorly watered, abounding with immense plains, 
which lie bnsking beneath a vertical sun, must be 
unfriendly to vegetation, and can merit no better ap- 
pellation than that given to it by the Latin poet, 
" Arida nulrix Icormm,^^'^ 

At present, there is not a free government in Afri- 
ca ; and, unless we can make an exception of/ Car- 
thage^ there never was one. There is not a ci\nlized 
nation there, unless Egypt and the states of Barbary 
can be called such. And is their state growing bet- 
ter ? Alas ! what circumstance can take place — what 
event arise, which shall meliorate their condition? 
Shall the progress of conquest open the way for any 
fortunate changes, or happy revolutions ? No : had 
they an}'^ thing which could invite an enlightened 
conqueror, yet who can conquer, who can withstand 
or endure their climate? But they have nothing to 
allure a con(]ueror : they lie beyond his reach, and 
the most of them even beyond the journies of fame. 
Shall the native force of their genius ever break their 
fetters? Shall a Cyrus, an Alexander, a Charle- 
magne, a Peter, a Washington, or a Bonaparte, ever 
arise and lead them to fame, independence, freedom 
and happiness? Or shall they rise to that state by 

* A dry uurse of lions. — Ed^ 



OF AFRICA. - 145 

the slow and gradual progress of art and science ? 
Alas ! the flight of twenty centuries has extinguished 
all hopes of any change for the better. Their men- 
tal degradation has given their destiny a gloom as 
deep as that which the scorching heavens have 
spread over their complexion. Their actual state 
may be worse than it now is — their prospects cannot 
well be worse. Abandoned to themselves, they seem 
condemned forever to trace the dreary road which 
lead« towards the extinction of intelligence, virtue^ 
and happiness. 

Shall they look for relief from the more prosper- 
ous, enlightened, and happy regions of the earth ? 
From Europe or America? Better would it be for 
them, if they were separated from us by a wall as 
high as heaven. Do our vessels approach their 
shores but when allured by the hopes of surreptitious 
gain or promiscuous plunder? When they descry our 
sails on their seas, have they not reason to conclude, 
that we are coming to cheat, to plunder, or to seize 
and carry them to a fate worse than death ? And 
have they not reason to deprecate our visits, to detest 
our policy, religion, or rather irroligion, and govern- 
ment, and to invoke the vengeance of heaven upon 
our name ? Nothing have they to expect from more 
enlightened nations but chains, and stripes, and tor- 
ments — but slavery, infamy and misery. 

It has been often alleged, in defence of the slave- 
trade, that the Africans who are brought among 
Christian people have thereby a chance given them 
to learn and embrace Christianity. Hapless lot ! The 
Father of spirits can, indeed, break through all their 
prejudices, and force conviction upon them. Al- 
mif;hty Providence could save Jonah, even in a 
whale's belly : the same can certainly save a negro 
slave from the southern states, or the West Indies ; 
and as well the savage tribes who live on the banks 
of the Gambia and Niger. Their enslavers will, 
however, be allowed but little merit in the day of re- 
32* 



Hi} PRESENT STATE 

tribution. on the ground of effecting their conversion 
by forcing husband from wife, and children from 
their parents, far from their native countrj^ into cru- 
el slavery. This will be a sorry plea for Christians 
in the view of Infinite Wisdom. 

The man who justifies slavery upon this principle, 
let him put himself in the plact;^>r one of those ruth- 
less children of misfortune. Let him imagine him- 
self seized, perhaps in the night, and torn from all 
his friends, and all his heart held dear; bound and 
forced into a vessel loaded with wretches like him- 
self ; his tears answered with scorn ; his cries for 
pity, with the bloody whip. If he does not perish 
with contagion, hunger or ci'uelty on the voyage, he 
is landed at length and consigned to a master who 
drives him into his fields to labor. He never more 
sees a friend : he never more hears from his lost re- 
lations : he sees not a moment's freedom : his labors 
are incessant, but not for himself: his toils are per- 
petual, and the fruit consigned to his oppressor: he 
bids an eternal adieu to contentment, to hope, and to 
enjoyment ; he learns to brook insult by its repeti- 
tion ; and his only remedy for pain is habit and en- 
durance. 

But for what purpose was he brought from his 
country ? Why was he forced from the scenes of his 
youth, and from the cool retreats of his native moun- 
tains ? Was it that he might witness the saving knowl- 
edge of the gospel ? That he might become a Chris- 
tian ? J)id they dcsiie to open his prospects into a 
future life? to inform his clouded soul of immortal 
joys ; and aid him in his pilgrimage to heaven ? No. 
He was deprived of freedom, the dearest pledge of 
his existence. His mind was not cultivated and im- 
proved by science. He was placed among those 
wlio hate and despise his nation : who undervalue 
him even for that of which he is innocent, and which 
he could not possibly avoid ! he is detested for his 
complexion, and ranked among the brutes for his stu- 



OF AFRICA. 147 

pidily — his laborious exertions are extorted from him 
to enrich his purchasers, and his scanty allowance is 
furnished, only that he may endure his sufferings for 
their aggrandizement. Where are the incentives 
that may induce him to become a Christian ? Alas ! 
they are crushed beneath a mountain of desperate 
and hopeless grief — his views of happiness are de- 
pressed, so that he must almost doubt of his natural 
claim to humanity. 

*' Had he religion, think you he could pray ? 

*' Ah no ! he steals him to his lonely shed, 

'' What time moist midnight blows her venom'd breath ; 

" And, musing how he long has toiled and bled," 

Seeks slieller only in Ihe arms of death. 

Much, indeed, may be said in praise of the noble 
and benevolent exertions of many individuals to pro- 
mote humanity, order, civility, and virtue among 
those unhappy nations. They have spared no pains 
nor expense ; they have encountered the dangers of 
those inclement climes, and the perils of a barbarous 
land. Their good will in this godlike work has been 
blessed ; they have been found doing their duty, and 
they shall not lose their reward. 

Were the nations, which bear the Christian name, 
generally engaged in this work — were they desirous 
to meliorate the condition of savage nations, they 
might, by a proper course of conduct, at length, re- 
move those prejudices from their minds, which now 
form insuperable bars to the most benevolent at- 
tempts of individuals and societies. Savages derive 
their views of the character, government, and reli- 
gion of Chrii-tian nations, not from the testimony of 
a few individuals, but from the conduct of those na- 
tions. They reason thus : " K,^'' say they, " Christian 
nations believe and practise their religion, we are 
sure it is the worst in the world ; therefore we will 
not embrace it : but if Christians do 7iot practise 
their religion, it is surely because they do not believe 
in it ; and if they do not believe nor practise it, why 



148 PRESENT STATE OF AFRICA, 

should we ? Why should it challen2:e our assent and 
conformity, who do not understand it, when those 
who do, disregard its dictates ?" 

Tiiere is no certain evidence, that the Africans are 
inferior to the Asiatics or Europeans in their natural 
make ; and it is highly prohable, that their n^.ental 
powers are impnired only by their peculiar habits. 
We have alr^'ady noticed the ligure tlie people of 
Egypt and C.'arthage once made among the nations of 
the earth. The former were, for many ages, the 
oracles of science ; and the hitter were not ordy the 
greatest of the ancient commercial nations, but among 
the most warlike, having produced the second, if not 
the first great commander of antiquity. 

Some attempt to prove, from the consideration of 
\heir color, that they are nnturally inferior to white 
nations. Their color is merely the misfortune of 
their climate, arising from the heat of the sun and 
their way of life. Many talk about the mark set 
upon Cain, and suppose the Alricans his descendants 
— never considering, that the family of Cain perished 
in the deluge. The blackness of the Africans is per- 
fectly well accounted for from the regular operation 
of natural causes ;* and their inferiority in various 
respects, from neglecting the proper use of those ad- 
vantages, which, in other quarters of the globe, have 
been improved with success. 

Whether they are now at the ultimate point of de- 
pression, or are to sink still deeper, is known only to 
the Ruler of providence. It is impossible to reflect 
upon their present situation hut with sensations of 
surprise, grief, and compassion. 

Hapless children of men ! when shall light and 
order pervade the cheerless regions, where you dwell? 
What power shall heave the adamantine bars which 
secure the gates of your dungeon, and bring you 
forth ? Wlien shall the cherub hope smile on you 
from heaven, and, with a compassionate voice call 

* See a Jenrned and ingenious treatise on this subject, by the 
Rev. Dr. Smith, Fresideat of Frincetou College. 



THE PRESENT STATE OF AMERICA. 149 

you to the pleasures of reason ? to the delights of im- 
mortality ? In the natural course of events your des- 
tiny seems hopeless; no force of words can suitably 
describe or deplore your case ; and your only hope 
of relief is in Omnipotence itself. Your deHverer 
must be a being of almighty power, wisdom, and good- 
ness. To that being, then, let me commend you — 
to his favor — to his grace — to his everlasting mercy. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE PRESENT STATE OF AMERICA. 

THIS important part of the globe claims no share 
of notice in tracing the great line of history. It is 
generally considered as unknown to the civilized 
world, till discovered by Columbus, in 1492; yet, 
since that period, it has risen rapidly into considera- 
tion. Truly important by its vast extent, and the 
immensity of its natural wealth, in the comparatively 
shoit period of three centurits, it has been the theatre 
of a series of grand and interesting; scenes. 

America was discovered just after the revival of 
letters ; a time when the public mind in Europe had 
been recently roused to action and enterprise. The 
discovery of so important an object, formed an era in 
the civilized world, by exciting desires and spreading 
temptations; by rousing the latent fires of ambition; 
by giving birth to new schemes of policy and specu- 
lations ; and by originating numberless projects and 
enterprises, which often disturbed the repose of Eu- 
rope, and terminated in wars and revolutions. 

For an account of those things, we must refer our 
readers to the histories of Europe ; and we wish it 
were in our power also to refer them to an able, im- 
partial, and elegant history of our own country. In 
the following chapter, it will be our endeavor to pre- 



150 SOUTH AMERICA. 

sent a general view of the present state of America, 
preparatory to which, a brief sketch will be given of 
its history since its first settlement. 

The American continent extends from about 56 de- 
grees of south latitude to unknown regions about the 
arctic pole. Its length is more than ten thousand 
miles ; and its mean breadth has never been ascer- 
tained, but would fall between two and four thousand 
miles. On the east it is washed by the Atlantic, and 
on the west by the Pacific ocean. TJiis continent ex- 
tends through all climates, comprehends every species 
of soil, and every conceivable line of geographical 
feature. It abounds in extensive and beautiful plains, 
majestic rivers, lofty mountains and prodigious lakesi^ 
Its lakes are worthy of the respectable name of in-* 
land seas ; and its rivers are many of them of such 
size, that were it not fortheir rapid current and fresh 
water, they would be mistaken for bays and arms of 
the ocean. Its plains are clothed with luxuriant 
vegetation ; its mountains rise with awful grandeur, 
pierce the clouds, and seem to prop the skies. 

The soil of America, if it has no certain claim to 
superiority, is at least equal to that of Spain, Italy, 
India, or China. In the United States, as far as we 
can remark on that article, there is no deficiency. 
The prodigious exports from several of the states, al- 
though in their infancy, are a proof that the country 
is made naturally fruitful and rich ; and through the 
whole extensive chain of settlements from the coast 
of Labrador to Cape Horn, and from thence to Cali- 
fornia and Kamschatka, the countries are generally 
healthful. 

Nature has thrown the American continent into 
two grand divisions, separated by the isthmus of 
Darien. South America is distinguished by the size 
of its mountains and rivers. The Andes lie on the 
western coast of South America, and extend the whole 
length of that continent. These are the most ex- 
traordinary mountains jo the world, whether we jre- 



SOUTH AMERICA* I o 1 

gard the length of their chain, the hreadth of their 
base, or the elevated height of their summits.* The 
elevation of Chimhorazo is more than 20,000 feet 
above the level of the sea. They extend the whole 
length of South America ; and, indeed, the Allegany 
mountains in North America, are thought to be a 
continuation of the same mountains, only interrupted 
by the gulf of Mexico. 

The rivers in South America are no less remarka- 
ble than the mountains. They rise in the eastern de- 
clivities of the Andes, down which they rush in num- 
berless torrents and cataracts. From the foot of the 
Andes, they must wander across the continent to the 
Atlantic ocean, the distance of 2000 miles. In this 
long course, which is increased by numerous mean- 
ders, they receive a multitude of streams, and, while 
yet at a great distance from the sea, their volume of 
water becomes Lxiaj* .s(ic, broad, and deep. They roll 
on witii increasing grandeur, and meet other rivers 
as large as themselves. Before thev reach the ocean, 
tholr channels are more than an hundred miles broad, 
and appear, as already said, like an arm of the sea : 
such are the Oroncke, the river of Plate, and the 
Amazon. 

The mountains of North America are inferior to 
the Andes, as is every other mountain on earth ; but 
the rivers in thr northern division are nearly equal 
with those of the south. The Mississippi, the Ore- 
gon,! the Bourbon,! and the St. Lawrence, pursue 
each a different direction, and reach their several 
oceans at the distance of 2000 miles. But the chain 
of lakes in North America, to wiiich the river St. 
Lawrence forms an outlet, has no parallel in any 
other part of the world. The principal of these, are 
Oi)lario, Erie, Michigan, Huron, and Superior. We 
may calculate, that, at some future period, the coun- 

* It has been ascertained, tliat the Ilimmaleh mountains be- 
tween Thibet and Kemaoon, are considerablj liigher Iban the 
Andes. See Worces(er''6 Gaz. — Ed. 

t Colurobia. % M'Kenzie's.—F.D. 



I 



152 SOUTH AMERICA. 

try about those lakes will be settled, and they wil 
afford a vast inland navigation of incalculable im- 
portance to that country. 

In addition to the rich and productive soil of South 
America, the bowels of the earth are stored with 
precious metals. Mexico and Peru abound with the 
richest mines in the world. This, at first rendered 
South America the most dazzling object in view of 
the powers of Europe ; but the deep forests and more 
hardy climate of North America promised wealth 
only to persevering labor and industry. In event, 
the precious metals of the south have ruined the most 
powerful nation in Europe, while the labor and in- 
dustry of the norths have given existence to a new i 
empire, which will shortly be able to set all Europe 
at defiance. 

In glancing an eye at the natural advantages of the : 
new continent, we must not forget to add to the con- 
siderations of soil and climate, an immense sea coast, 
numerous fine harbors, and an unequalled inland nav- 
igation, by means of rivers, bays, and lakes, compris- 
ing all the advantages of commerce. 

Such was the new world discovered by Columbus. 
This continent, containing nearly half of the dry land 
of the globe, exclusive of the islands, lies opposite, 
and forms a balance or counterpoise to the old world. 
This great continent, when discovered by Columbus, 
was found inhabited by savages. The nations of 
Mexico and Peru were the most improved of tlieni 
all; but they were far less so than the Tartars and 
Scythians of Asia. These savages, in most parts of 
America, were thinly scattered over a wide country. 

From whence these nations descended, or whence 
they came, is uncertain. Nothing conclusive is dis- 
coverable on that head from their oral histories and 
traditions — from their language, manners, or customs, 
nor from any monument found in all the continent, 
or any other part of the world. Dr. Robertson has 
conjectured on this subject with his usual elegance of 



SOUTH AMERICA. l-»3 

st)'le and manner; and, with uncomnnon force of 
imagination, has constructed a bridge from Africa to 
South America, on which they might pass; which 
bridge has sunk by earthquakes, or worn away by 
the attrition of the guh stream. In fact, it is of little 
consequence, from whom the natives of this country 
Tf ere descended ; but, were it otherwise, conjectures 
were vain and groundless. By reason of a total want 
of evidence, the subject rests in darkness. 

The new world opened an inviting prospect from 
afar to myriads in Europe. They had no scruples of 
conscience in seizing upon a country inhabited by 
savages, whom they considered as having no more 
right to the land, than the beasts of the forest. Thou- 
sands flocked hither to escape poverty, oppression, 
and the various troubles of Europe. The Spaniards 
spread southwardly, allured by the rich mines of Peru 
and Mexico. They thought that mere land, especially 
a wilderness, was scarcely worthy of occupancy. 
We shall be very short on their history. Under the 
command of Cortez, the Pizarros, and sundry other 
adventurers of most execrable memory, they subdued 
the northern parts of South America. They slaugh- 
tered several millions of the harmless natives of those 
countries; and exhibited a scene of horror and cru- 
elty, which was doubtless never equalled on the old 
continent — showing themselves, on all occasions, to 
be a race of monsters in human shape, void of hu- 
manity, mercy, truth, and honor. 

Their wickedness was too outrageous for the earth 
to bear, or the heavens to behold without a frown.' 
The hand of Providence has pursued them with 
various curses, and has smitten Spain itself with a 
consumption, and an irrecoverable decline, for allow- 
ing, indeed for perpetrating, such horrible and enor- 
mous cruelties. The Spaniards soon acquired im- 
mense treasures of gold and silver, and became utterly 
paralized by wealth. They were wealthy only to 
benefit their more industrious neighbors; and they 
33 



154 NORTH AMERICA. 

exhibit a striking proof, that exorbitant wealth and 
luxury are but feeble bulwarks to national prosperity* 
Spain, in the early part of the 16th century, was 
the most powerful nation in Europe. Without any 
revolution, or any considerable misfortunes by war, 
or otherwise, she has gradually become weak, and is 
scarcely an independent nation. Her provinces in 
South America are still weaker. They are not 
known but as wide regions inhabited by an ignorant, 
or by a savage race of people, as incapable of enjoy- 
ing, as of obtaining independence. 

North America was destined to happier scenes oi 
action. A tract of country extending from Canada 
to Florida, and from the Atlantic to the river Missis- 
sippi, was located, and its eastern borders were set- 
tled chiefly by emigrants from the British kingdom. 
Though they came hither with raised expectations of 
the country, yet they found the most enterprising in- 
dustry necessary to level the tall forest and subdue the 
face of the earth. The grand object of their wishes 
invited them to enjoyment through perils and labo- 
rious exertion. They ascended the hills of difficulty 
with resolution, and despaired not of the bright sum- 
mit, though at a distance and elevated. They push- 
ed the business of agriculture with nerve, resolu- 
tion, and unexampled success. The forest fell before 
them; the savages were awed to respectful peace; 
the country soon began to smile, and promised what 
a more distant day would bring forth. 

If language fail in describing the bravery, energy, 
economy, and perseverance of our fathers, it will find 
it no easier to picture the industry, virtue, prudence, 
and fortitude of our mothers. They reared and in- 
structed a race of heroes, who were cherished on 
bosoms expanded with every sentiment of truth, and 
warmed and enlivened by every noble and virtuous 
impulse. They could not but be great. Though not 
possessed with that artificial gloss which is derived 
from the smooth manners and gaudy splendor of 



UNITED STATES. 155 

courts ; they had that strength, firmness, expansion, 
and dignity of soul, which virtue inspires, and which 
a consciousness of right can diffuse in a world of 
freedom, peace, and plenty. 

The first settlers of the United States, were daily 
strengthened by new adventurers, who fled, some in- 
deed from justice, but far more generally from the 
pride and cruelty of oppressive power. In about a 
century and a half the colonies were increased to 
thirteen in number, were spread far back from the 
sea, and had made considerable advances in commerce 
and manufactures. | A hardy race had sprung up, 
who could not be trampled on with impunit}^ ; men 
jealous of their rights, industrious in peace, and un- 
daunted in war. 

At that time an unaccountable mmiia seized the 
British government to make exactions on our country, 
which were'equally impolitic and unjust* From those 
exorbitant demands, our intrepid countrymen turned 
with various sentiments of disgust, aversion, and ab- 
horrence ; and not without emotions of concern and 
sorrow at the idea of a rupture with our mother- 
country. Our ideas of British aggressions might be 
suspected of prejudiced and partial views, were they 
not corroborated by their. own people. The ablest 
statesmen and profoundest politicians in Great Britain, 
condemned the measures of their government, and 
foretold the consequences that would follow. Violent 
disputes ensued : they were propagated through the 
British dominions; and our cause was patronized by 
a great and respectable minority. Their ablest coun- 
sellors were divided ; and a subject of such magni- 
tude called forth the powers of reasoning, and roused 
the spirit of eloquence, which had slumbered since 
the times of Cicero. 

But the British forum was not the only theatre of 
eloquence. In our infant country her powerful voice 
was heard. Men from the plough, from the shop, 
and the counter, for a moment forsook their humble 



156 UNITED STATER. iS 

pursuits, and, obedient to the distressful call of thpir 
country, became, according to their abilities, soldiers 
or statesmen. 

After the perturbation and alarm of the first shock 
was a little passed, it was perceived that the colonies 
would all unite, and pledge themselves for mutual 
support and defence. 'A solemn instrument was 
drawn up, which declared, in strong but temperate 
language, the independence and sovereignty of the 
United States, and was publishcd^on the fourth day 
of July, 17764— a day ever memorable to the people 
of this happy country. 

The British government, than which no one was 
ever more disappointed or deceived, soon perceived, 
that the contest was to be of a serious and eventful 
nature. The scene of action was distant ; the neces- 
sary preparations expensive ; every inch of ground 
was to be disputed ; the contest was sharp and bloody, 
and the issue doubtful. Impelled by interest, indig- 
jiity, and pride of character. Great Britain found it 
necessary to call forth her utmost resources. She 
therefore sent tleets and armies, and commenced a 
threefold attack. She assailed our country' at each 
extreme, and in the centre ; while, at the same time, 
she armed and impelled numerous nations of savages 
to fall upon us in the rear./ With one army, she de- 
scended upon our northern states, from Canada ; with 
another, she ravaged the southern states ; with a third 
she struck at our centre from New-York, the Hudson, 
and Delaware, while our extensive sea coast was per- 
petually harassed by her victorious fleets; and our 
western frontier, from Canada to Georgia, was exposed 
to the inroads of myriads of fierce and hostile savages. 

Divine Providence determined we should surmount 
all the dangers and difficulties of so formidable a war, 
and establish our independence. A man was raised 
up to command our armies, who was able to make the 
best of our slender resources, and to supply their 
defect by his own immense and astonishing genius* 



UNITED STATES. 157 

George Washington, if any mortal man ever merited 
the appellation of Father of his country, surely merits 
that name. He, by the united voice of his country, 
fled her armies : he trained them to the art of war. 
He fixed their wavering resolution ; confirmed their 
dubious virtue; inspired them with invincible cour- 
age ; taught them to be cool, intrepid, and firm in 
every danger — to exercise the utmost fortitude in 
adversity, and to be temperate, magnanimous, mild, 
and merciful in the moment of victory. 

Washington will not suffer in a comparison with 
any commander, ancient or modern. If compared 
with Cyrus, the armies of the latter were numerous, 
and his enemies weak. It was not so with Wash- 
ington. If compared with Alexander, the army of 
the latter had been trained by Philip, one of the 
greatest men of antiquity, and the Persians were ut- 
terly drowned in luxury. If compared with Hanni- 
bal, the latter had, perhaps, the bravest, most expe- 
rienced, most impetuous and warlike troops upon 
earth. How far was that from being the case with 
Washington. If compared with Julius Cesar, the 
latter had the ablest, best appointed, and most effec- 
tive army which the resources of Rome? ever sent into 
the field. If compared with any of the greatest gen- 
erals of modern times, as Gustavus Adolphus, Eugene, 
Marlborough, Conde, Tilly, Turenne, or even Bona- 
parte, their resources will be found to have been gen- 
erally incomparably superior to his, and the difficulties 
they encountered, as much inferior. Their armies 
were numerous ; trained in the storms of war; hard- 
ened by marches, sieges, and battles ; made crafty by 
ambuscades, wiles, and stratagems; and enabled, by 
long experience, to face every form of danger without 
fear. Their armies, in general, were amply fed, 
clothed, and paid, and were completely officered by 
men thoroughly educated in military tactics. 

However fruitful the American lands, and how nu- 
merous soever the natural advantages of the country 
33* 



158 UNITED STATES. 

might be, they were of a nature, which required the 
exertions of all the people to realize and call them 
forth ; and in proportion to the indispensable labors 
of the country, there was certainly an extreme pau- 
city of hands to carry them on 5 few, therefore, 
could be well spared to bear arms. Our armies, 
which were sm:iil, were at first composed of men 
drawn from the bosom of a peaceful land. They 
wore utterly unaccpjaintcd with war; yet by hard 
labor, they had been rendered robust, vigorous, ac- 
tive, and capable of fatigue. It is not unworthy of 
notice and of admiration, that men, habituated to 
freedom bordering on licentiousness, tenacious of 
their ricrhts, and jealous of their honor even to a 
punctilio, should so readily submit to military subor- 
dination and martial law. They did, however, yield 
to steady discipline ; and, in a short time, were form- 
ed into a regular army. 

But in a scene of action so immense, in a conflict 
so varied, so long and severe, the United States were 
involved in difficulties extreme and dreadful. If we 
looked northward, we beheld an army ready to rush 
like a torrent upon us, and sweep our country v/ith 
tlie besom of destruction. At the southward, our 
most fertile lands were desolated by another still 
more formidable. Swarms of angry savages continu- 
ally hovered upon our frontiers, where many of our 
unhappy citizens were destined to perish with the 
tomahawk in a midnight surprise ; and about our sea 
coasts and harbors the triumphant flag of our enemies 
was perpetually displayed. Agriculture failed for 
want of hands ; a scarcity of provisions ensued ; 
there was a cessation of commerce, and but little 
money ; our aimy poorly paid, and miserably clad, 
was threatened by famine or with the dire alteriaative 
of plundering the country they were raised to defend 
— a country already made naked by exactions dis- 
proportioned to its resources.' 

At this eventful period, the column of our indepen- 
dence, so lately reared, seemed to tott«r ; but it was 



UNITED STATES. 159 

• 

sustained by a few hands, which Omnipotence had 
rendered strong for that purpose, A few hands in- 
deed ! For how unstable is popular opinion ! how 
varying, how uncertain, how inconsistent, how fickle, 
how unsubstantial is a public passion ! No people on 
earth, (for it shall be spoken,) no people on earth 
"were ever more firm, more enlightened, more con- 
sistent, than the people of the United States, as a 
body. But, alas ! what could they do ? What could 
they think ? The people at large always judge acutely 
of present dangers; they feel the shock of calamities, 
and the stings of misfortune. When their fathers, 
their sons, and their brothers fall in battle, the 
sources of their grief are as wide, and their tears flow 
as freely^ as those of the statesman and hero. It was 
so wiih our people. Their souls were made up of 
courage and fortitude; but their information was 
limited ; their views of the ground imperfect ; the 
first paroxysms of enthusiastic zeal were past, and 
the flame of general patriotism was a little checked 
by chilling disasters. 

It was a time of affliction, of grief, of terror, and 
alarm. Fear triumphed over hope, while the balance 
trembled in suspense, the turn of which was to fix 
the fate of our country forever. In an hour so dark 
and trying, while huge calamities hung over us, we 
were in danger of being ensnared by the artful wiles 
of an exasperated foe. The British government is- 
sued a proclamation of grace, a general amnesty, from 
which none were excluded but John Hancock and 
Samuel Adams, who were justly regarded as among 
the primary moving powers of the revolution. Every 
man in our country looked round for encouragement, 
support, and advice. The eyes of the people were 
turned on those men most remarkable for sagacity, 
wisdom, and integrity ; and all eyes were directed 
with extreme solicitude to the general Congress. 
That honorable body, at that day, was composed of 
men, who could not be awed into submission by the 



160 tTNlTED STATES. 

voice of majesty, nor the portentous menaces of sove- 
reign power. They dared to brave the gathering 
tempest, and, at any hazard, were willing to rise or 
fall with the revolution. They could not be ensnar- 
ed by fallacious hopes, nor beguiled by unmeaning 
professions and promises, however specious and daz- 
zling. They listened to the British proclamation, 
as to the voice of a syren ; and they could not think 
of purchasing peace with the blood of their noblest 
patriots, but with a chill of horror. 

It is not easy to conceive the embarrassments, the 
dangers and perils, which attended that Congress, 
which first embarked our political vessel on an ocean 
so stormy. They were obliged to brave the most 
threatening aspects of fortune — to stand foremost in 
a doubtful contest. They were too well read in the 
history of nations not to know, to what inevitable ruin 
they were exposed, should the revolution fail. From 
the same sources, they knew but too well the fickle- 
ness and caprice of the public mind. They saw and 
felt the miseries of their country already come, and 
dreaded others still impending. 

While the people, with palpitating fears, looked up 
to their leaders ; while they, from New-Hampshire 
to Georgia, in serious and painful anxiety, placed 
their hopes in the wisdom of that illustrious band of 
patriots assembled in Congress ; that body looked to 
one man, as to a common father : their eyes were all 
fixed on Washington. The British legions, who at 
first afFected to despise, were soon taught to dread 
that illustrious leader; and the country, which he 
was called to defend, soon perceived, that their con- 
fidence was not misplaced. They saw that he bore 
not the sword in vain. 

There were several events, which proved favorable 
to the revolution. At first, many men of enlightened 
minds were in doubt, whether the proper time to 
separate from Great Britain was come. Others still 
felt the force of habitual respect for a nation justly 



4 



UNITED STATES. 161 

styled our mother-country. Some, indeed, were from 
education, from theory, and speculation, strongly at- 
tached to the ancient government of the country, and 
dreaded the violent paroxysms of rage, of zeal, and 
of party views, to which we must be exposed in dis- 
solving connexion with Britain, reverting into a state 
of native anarchy, and thence rising to order under 
a new, an untried form of government, to be made — 
to be organized and set in motion, by ourselves. 

Many, and with great justness, dreaded a series of 
bloody revolutions, and after all, a disgraceful return 
to the goal, from whence we started. They expected 
we should be humbled, scourged, desolated and ruin- 
ed in war, and then return to our allegiance with 
shame, disgrace, and eternal contempt, and submit, 
voluntarily, to have our fetters rivetted, and our des- 
tiny fixed in servitude : for an unsuccessful attempt 
at liberty, may always be regarded as a deadly 
plunge into hopeless slavery. 

Several persons of these descriptions, were scatter- 
ed through the continent ; but, fortunately for us, 
their numbers soon greatly diminished. When they 
saw the revolution had actually taken form, and was 
likely, at least, to be strenuously contested — when 
they saw the thirteen states, as a body, combined, 
and solemnly pledged to defend the cause, they gene- 
rally yielded the point, and even determined to rise 
or fall with their brethren. 

In enumerating the causes, which operated in our 
favor, we cannot avoid noticing the unskilful mea- 
sures employed by the British government to bring 
us back to our duty from a state of revolt. A medium 
between two extremes is often the proper course to 
pursue ; but to them it was cerlaii^ly most im])roper, 
as it proved most unsuccessful. 1 hey should have 
been either far moie ericrgetic, more decisive, and 
more severe, or far more lenient, mild, and gentle. 
In either of those extremes, there was a possibility of 
their succeeding. They, in the first instance, were 



162 UNITED STATES. 

certainly the aggressors. Their ablest politicians 
and firmest patriots confessed it, and urged it as a 
reason, why they should seek to restore union and, 
tranquility by concession, indulgence, and lenity.! 
But that was too mortifying to their pride and ambi- 
tion ; they disdained the idea of the slightest con- 
cession, and determined to do all by austerity, me- 
nace, and compulsion. They should have organized 
a course of measures, suitable to the complexion of a 
policy so self-sufficient, and of an attitude so haughty 
and commanding. 

But they vainly imagined, ihat a regular army of 
three or four thousand men would directly awe us 
into submission. They tried it, and found out their 
mistake, when, by a strong concurrence of events, it 
was too late. The firmness, union, and bravery of 
the people of the United States, saved them from 
falling an immediate prey to their enemies ; but it is 
doubtful to what extent their calamities would have 
risen, but for the operation of two powerful causes, 
which cannot be passed unnoticed. 

The aid of France M^as timely, and was necessary> 
We shall not meddle with the question of equity. 
We shall not say, nor is it in the power of any being, 
but of HIM who views actions in all their relations, 
and traces all effects to their first causes, to say how 
far their interference was conformable to the eternal 
rules of justice. As things have turned, our revolu- 
tion cannot be considered but as a source of misfor- 
tunes to them. The enmity, jealousy, and rivalship 
subsisting between France and England, are things 
well known to most persons who have eyes and ears. 
Their mutual animosities have embroiled Europe for 
the last five hundred years. 

The rapid growth and vast resources of the British 
colonies, rendered their separation from England, of 
all possible objects, the most ardently to be wished, 
and the most strenuously to be sought for by France. 
In espousing our cause they aimed a deadly blow at 



UNITED STATES. 163 

Great Britain : it is not, therefore, strange, that they 
should entertain so strong a sense of the justice of our 
cause, when our success was likely to diminish the 
resources of their most formidable rival, and pluck 
one of the brightest gems from the British crown. 
With the most cordial fdlowfielmg^ therefore, they 
espoused our contest and made it their own : nor 
should the pen of the historian be so ungrateful as 
not to " speak well of the bridge that carried us safe 
over." 

A war between France and England divided the 
attention and resources of the latter, and rendered 
the reduction of the colonies the least article in their 
grand dispute ; which extended itself into both hem- 
ispheres, and ultimately awakened all the energies of 
the conflicting powers. By this, |\ve were certainly 
benefitted, and probably saved from subjugation. 

But all the aid we received, or could have received 
from France, would have been unavailing, had not 
Providence raised up a man to head our armies, 
every way fitted for that important trust. When we 
say every way jilted^ we mean much more than is 
commonly intended by that expression. He seemed 
to be in all respects, exactly such a personage as was 
indispensable to our cause. 

It is remarkable, that in the course of the war, two 
entire British armies were captured, |The capture 
of Burgoyne; revived the spirits and animated the 
hopes of the Americans, and seemed to put a new 
face upon affairs ; -and that of Cornwallis terminated 
the war./ The reduction of the states, from the time 
of that event, was considered as impracticable. 

If the union of the states, in the revolutionary war, 
may be considered as an evidence of their wisdom, 
foresight, and patriotism, their union in a matter of 
equal magnitude, since that time, is no less remarka- 
ble. When the first articles of confederation, estab- 
lished as the basis of our political fabric, were found 
inadequate to that grand purpose, the states a second 



164 UNITED STATES. 

time cordially united in a plan of government, recom- 
mended to them by a general convention. This 
second union, especially disappointed the hopes of 
the enemies of our country, and falsified their numer- 
ous and vehement predictions, that we should disa- 
gree, dispute, quarrel, and dash in pieces on that 
dangerous rock. 

The course of events since the adoption of the fed- 
eral government, is well known. Regarding our en- 
tire history — our progress in our colonial relation to 
Britain ; our emancipation from foreign domination ; 
our union in two grand movements, so improbable, 
and yet so necessary ; in short, regarding our past 
and present state, and our future prospects, we must 
be pronounced a fortunate, and happy people. 

In giving a succinct view of the present state of 
the new world, we shall consider it under four divi- 
sions, viz. British and Spanish America, the United 
States, and the savage nations. 

1. What was designed to be noticed of Spanish 
America has been nearly anticipated. The immense 
provinces they possess in the new world, lie generally 
in a wilderness-state. Their application to agricul- 
ture in those extensive countries, has been trifling, 
and the people who claim the civilized rank are 
mere Spaniards, and that of the lowest grade. Their 
population is inconsiderable, when compared with 
the lands they claim ; they make no figure in war; 
thoy are nothing in the arts and sciences ; they can 
scarcely boast of one illustrious character; and there 
seems not to exist one single fact, trait, or circum- 
stance to veil the sterility of ihcir mental soil— the 
total want of intellectual culture, or to enlighten cirid 
adorn the pages of their history. On tlie whole, 
it shall suffice to close our observations on Spanish 
America, [by noting to the reader, that the sph^ndid 
and eloquent pen of Dr. Robertson has given an ideal 
importance to the history of that country, which 
makes it al>undantly worth reading, truth and facts 



SllITlSH AMERICA. 1G6 

being entirely out of the question. To his history, 
therefore, the reader is referred. 

2. The possessions of Great Britain in North 
America, commonly called British America, are com- 
prised in a section of that continent north of the 
United States, and commence^ about the 44lh degree 
of north latitude. Thej are bounded east by the At- 
lantic ocean — south partly by the United States, and 
they seem to run west and north indefinitely, or till 
met by circumjacent seas. Neither the Canadas, 
Nova Scotia, nor New-Brunswick, can very soon be- 
come objects of very great importance. Regions so 
remote, so cold and inhospitable, can never awaken 
the spirit of emigration ; nor will the natural progress 
of population be very rapid. Perhaps, should the 
world remain in its present form for twenty or thirty 
centuries, those provinces may become populous, in 
some measure, by means of a change of climate. It 
is a remarkable fact, that the climate in the New- 
England states, has been observed to change materi- 
ally within the last 50, nay SO years. As the forests 
are cleared away, and the face of the ground laid 
open, should the climate continue to change, the two 
continents may at length become upon a par as to 
temperature. 

The revenue, which Great Britain derives from 
her colonies, is of some value ; but the state of those 
colonies, generally^ speaking, is barbarous, wild, and 
uninviting, in the extreme. Great countries, a thin 
population sprinkled over their margin, boundless 
forests, long and dreary winters, a frightful solitude, 
howling savages, and a remote seclusion from the 
world of civility and order, are objects which appal 
all but the robust and hardy children of misfortune. 
Some, indeed, will go thither to make, and some to 
repair, their ruined fortunes; some to repair, and 
some to form their characters. 

What corner of the earth is so remote— what re- 
gion so forbidding, that the sons of Mammon will not 
34 



166 BRITISH x\MERIGA. 

visit it in quest of gain ? What ocean, strait or river, 
will they not explore, or what form of danger will 
they not encounter, what death will they not despise, 
when the hope of Sfain is thrown into the adverse 
scale ? They will dive into the bowels of the earth ; 
they will traverse the wildest, the most dangerous 
deserts ; they will encounter the eternal frosts of 
either pole, and laugh at the storms of the wintry 
seas, or the burning showers of equatorial sand, 
when allured by wealth. 

From the nature of the provinces in British Ame- 
rica, the increase of their population must be very 
slow : they must long remain feeble ; and of course, 
so long they must be subject to, and dependent on 
their mother country : nor is it likely they will ever 
form an independent government. Should they re- 
volt from Britain, they would naturally fall to their 
far more powerful and prosperous neighbors, the 
United States ; an event, however, as undesirable to 
us, as it would be to Great Britain. Let us, in all 
conscience, be satisfied with the territories we have, 
at least for the ensuing five hundred years. When 
we shall have fully experienced the arduous difli- 
cultics of supporting a frame of government over a 
territory twelve hundred miles square, we shall 
neither wish to purchase, to conquer, nor to receive, 
even by free donation, an additional territory.* 

At the close of the late war, many of the loyalists, 
in the true spirit of national gratitude, were reward- 
ed for their fidelity to Britain, with possessions in 
Nova-Scotia. At^ter a short residence in that dreary 
country, they found themselves exiled from a happier 
world. They grew discontented, and numbers of 
them returned to the United States, and were glad 
to take up their abode among a people, upon whom 
they had, some time before, turned their backs with 
utter contempt and disgust. Whoever is acquainted 

* There is some reason to hope, that tlie author's views upon 
this subject, will be found incorrect. — Ed. 



NAME. 167 

with the course of human affairs, knows, that it is as 
dangerous to oppose a prosperous revohition, as it is 
to join one, which fails. 

3. We come now to give a sketch of the present 
state of the United States. 

NAME. 

The new world has been peculiarly unfortunate, in 
all respects, as it relates to a name. In the first place, 
it should have been called Columbia ; a name, which 
yields to none in point of dignity, harmony, and con- 
venience. The word Columbia^ in its very sound, is 
grave and proper for history ; it is dignified and 
adapted to oratory ; full, smooth, and harmonious, 
and is equally good in poetry. In its very orthogra- 
phy it is neat, convenient, and agreeable, neither too 
short nor too long. 

That the new continent should be called America^ 
after Americus Vesputius, was the greatest act of 
folly, caprice, cruelty, and injustice of the kind, that 
ever mankind were guilty of. To deprive Columbus 
of that honor which he so justly merited ; to bestow 
it upon one who had no title to it ; to violate at once 
justice, propriety, and harmony ; to reject a name 
which that of no nation in point of sound ever excel- 
led, and substitute in its place one which sounds but 
meanly in prose, and is intolerable in poetry, is an 
act of caprice and folly which can scarcely be thought 
of with any degree of patience. It will forever be 
regretted by every reflecting mind. Indeed, the 
name of Columbia will always reign in poetry, and 
in the pathetic and sublime of prose. It will proba- 
bly gain ground upon its spurious, upstart rival, and 
it may in a good measure supplant it. 

Since the continent has acquired another name, it 
would have been highly proper to have called the 
United States Columbia. Though but a part of the 
continent, yet it is a part respectable for size, and 



168^ AGRICULTURE. 

probably will, for aires, remain the most important 
part of the new world. 

Two favorable moments have past, in either of 
which, and especially the latter, it is believed that a 
name might have been given to the United States. 
Accompanying the declaration of independence, or 
the promulgation of the federal constitution, an ap- 
propriate name would probably have taken with the 
people, and Iiave gone down, fiimly fixed to posteri- 
ty. When another time equally favorable will arrive, 
is uncertain. There are serious and urgent reasons 
why the United States should have a name. Whether 
that name shall be proposed by Congress, by the 
universities, by the legislatures of several states, or 
by individuals, is of little consequence, provided the 
name is a good one, and meets with acceptance. 
The power of determining upon a name might be 
vested in the heads of the several universities ; or 
it might be done by the concurrence of the majority 
of the several states by their legislatures, or by the 
nomination of individuals.* 

AGRICULTURE. 

Agriculture forms the most important interest of 
the United States. The people may with propriety 
be called an agricultural people. Their natural ad- 
vantages, for that object, certainly equal those of any 
nation on earth. Their territories include the best 
climates in the temperate zone ; and, since the addi- 
tion of Louisiana, they extend, perhaps, from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. But if we consider 
the lakes, the Atlantic, and the IVlississippi as our 
boundaries, there is a vast country of arable land, 
including every possible variety of excellence, with 

* Wliat reasonable objection roiild there be to culling thi^ 
country I'REDOMA ? a name proposed by one of the greatest 
scholars in the United States, Avi)o in Europe^U considered as the 
buuinary of ILi-s co«ntrv. 



AGRICULTURE. 169 

few wastes or barrens. We seem to fall behind no 
quarter of the globe but in the precious metals and 
jewels. Our lands equal those of Egypt, Assyria, 
India, or China.* 

The people of the United States seerri well fitted 
to avail themselves of these advantages. They are 
generally strong, robust, active, and ambitious, and 
are actuated by a greater desire to acquire a neat, 
competent, independent style of living, than any 
other nation ever known. They shrink from no 
labors. Hardships, enterprises, fatigues, and even 
dangers, are encountered with pleasure, in view of 
that honorable independence, which is fairly within 
their reach. They grasp after it with eagerness ; 
pursue it with diligence ; and they seldom fail of 
being successful. 

The domestic history of a young farmer, in this 
country, cannot he read hut with a kind of romantic 
pleasure ; such as a poetic fancy feels in reading the 
fictions of the golden age. He early unites his for- 
tunes and destiny with those of some female, whose 
virtue, kindness, prudence, and industry, seldom fail 
to dignify the raptures of passion into the calm sun- 
shine of lasting benevolence and esteem. They have 
no property : the new countries invite them, and 
they go thither animated with the most laudable and 
sanguine expectations. By a few years' labor, which 
they pass through with resolution, cheerfulness, and 
liope, they acquire a competence, frequently wealth. 
Their numerous offspring are trained up in habits of 
industry, economy, and virtue. They settle around 
their parents, form a little society of most endearing 
friendship, and living in love and peace, they are 
prosperous and happy. 

This country has populated with unexampled rap- 
idity. Since the close of the revolutionary war, the 
western line of settlements extending from Canada to 
Georgia has been moving westward, along the course 

* It is probable (he fertility of our soil is here OTer-rated. — Ed. 
34* 



170 AGRICULTURE. 

of the great rivers \\hich lead to the Mississippi, and 
in the bosom of those rich countries where the pro- 
duce of ihe earth rewards the laborer a hundred fold. 

While every art and science is cultivated, that of 
agriculture is by no means neglected. The different 
modes of subduing and cultivating the earth have, 
latterly especially, engaged the attention of men of 
opulence and leisure. Agricultural societies have 
been formed ; valuable essays and publications have 
been diffused over our country ; and the most impor- 
tant improvements have been brought from Europe, 
and practised with success. Too much praise can 
scarcely be bestowed on those enterprising men, who 
have published and diffused several important dic- 
tionaries of arts and sciences, particularly the Ency- 
clopedia, From them, the most useful information 
has been and may still be drawn. 

In the agriculture of this country, many improve- 
ments are still to be made. We cannot but observe, 
with regret and concern, tbat many farmers entirely 
overlook the grand object where their true interest 
centers. They blindly follow the footsteps of their 
fathers and ancestors, without deriving any benefit 
from reflection, inquiry, advice, or experiment. 
They never once dream, that husbandry, of all arts, 
is tiie most improvable. 

In our country, there is a scarcity of hands to labor. 
Whatever improvement, therefore, diminishes the 
quantity or increases the effects of hard labor, must 
he valuable. It is a prevailing fault, that our farm- 
ers, in but few instances, consult the nature and 
character of their fiims, and rci^ulate their tillage 
accordingly. Tbey do not consider whether they 
are more proper for grazing or for grain. They are 
determined entirely by accident or tradition, in the 
choice of the grasses or the grain they will raise. 
They pay little attention to the selection of seed ; an 
article of prime importance in every species of crop. 
They are equally negligent of the breed of their cat^ 



AGRICULTURE. 171 

tie, horses, and especially of their sheep. Many 
things of tliis nature, in the farmer's art, may be 
attended to with little expence. Attention only 
seems to be requisite, and of that kind which might 
serve as matter of amu«enicnt. 

The greatest genera! fault observable in the agricul- 
ture of the United States, is, what might be expected 
from the fewness of laborers, an imperfect, slight, and 
feeble tillage of too much land. Jt might, in a mea- 
sure be remedied. If a much greater attention were 
paid to the cultivation of various species of grass, 
and to the rearing of stock, far less labor would be 
requisite in tillage ; while at the same time, the far- 
mer's revenue would be increased; and a smaller por- 
tion of his plough lands being put into a much higher 
state of cultivation, would yield him a much greater 
quantity of grain. Where he now obtains two hun- 
dred bushels of grain from twenty acres, he might 
then obtain the same quantity from five acres. 

The agricultural interest of this country is endan- 
gered from another quarter. An immense influx of 
foreign luxuries, and a taste for high living, seriously 
threaten the industry and liabits of labor, prevalent 
among the middle classes of people. It may be said, 
indeed, that to purchase these luxuries, farmers must 
be industrious. It is a far more practical truth, that 
to use them does by no means consist with economy, 
and is absolutely incompatible with industry. 

The middle and northern states, especially the lat- 
ter, are cultivated by the very people who own the 
lands. Each farmer does his own labor: he not only 
superinteFids, but leads in his fields, and does much 
of the work with his own hands. During the inter- 
vals of labor, he reads the newspapers, talks politics, 
and becomes, at least in his own estimation, a pro- 
found statesman. It must, indeed, be confessed, that 
no other class of laborers on earth are so well in- 
formed as the New-Ciif^land farmers. They are 
generally well versed in the circulating politics of the 



172 COMMERCE. 

day: most of them having newspapers enough in 
their houses to paper all their rooms. 

COMMERCE. 

The commerce of the United States is both great 
and growing. Their advantages in this respect are 
not inferior to those of agriculture. A vast sea coast, 
indented with almost innumerable good harbors; a 
multitude of navigable rivers; a country abounding 
with articles of high demand for exportation, with 
every thing necessary to ship-building; and as bold, 
hardy and enterprising a race of men as ever braved 
the dangers of the sea ; all bid fair for commerce. 
We have already become one of the most commercial 
people in the world, and, it is thought, second to none 
but Great Britain. 

Our advantages for commerce arise from the follow- 
ing considerations ; 

1. An extensive sea coast. From Maine to Geor- 
gia, inclusive, considering the windings of the coast, 
the distance is more than 2,000 miles. This whole 
coast is indented with good harbors. Many of them 
have already become places of considerable trade; and 
many more are susceptible of the same advantages, 
and must rapidly rise into consideration, through the 
enterprise of the adjacent country. Some of our 
sea ports have already become great. There is 
probably no city on the globe which is now advancing 
with such rapid strides towards commercial great- 
ness, as New-York. She is fast rising into the first 
rank of cities. Situated at the mouth of a noble and 
beautifiii rivcT, down whose gentle current the wealth 
of an opulent country is wafted by nearly two thou- 
sand vessels, she trades with all parts of the world, 
and her ships are seen in every ocean. 

2. The United States are prodigiously intersected 
and almost insulated by large rivers. By a few carr}'- 
ing places, which, at no very distant day, will probably 



COMMERCE. 1 73 

be converted into canals, our whole country nnay be 
actually divided into several large islands. Those 
immense rivers, whose waters fall into the bay of 
Mexico, in some of their branches, extend nearly to 
the great lakes, or almost interlock with streams 
which fall into those lakes. One can scarcely glance 
an eye over the map of this country, without being 
surprised at the vast extent and facility of our inland 
navigation. 

This subject will attract more attention, and excite 
more admiration progressively, as the body of popu- 
lation shall move westward, and those forests, which 
now shade one of the most fertile countries in the 
world, shall becleaied away. 

3. The third remarkable trait favorable to our 
commerce, is a vast profusion of materials for ship- 
building. Masts, timber, plank, iron, flax, hemp, pitch, 
&c. are easily obtained in all parts, if not of the very 
best kind, yet of a quality fit for use. In proof of 
this, our trading vessels are yearly increasing in a 
geometrical ratio. It is not to be concealed, indeed, 
that we import some of these materials from other 
countries ; which only shews that we have additional 
resources. 

4. The produce of our country forms the real basis 
of our commerce. To enumerate the articles we 
export, and receive from other nations in return, 
would fill many pages. The secret springs of com- 
mercial enterprise, open an immense field of specu- 
lation. Our ports are visited by the ships of numer- 
ous nations, who find also their own interest in our 
trade. 

5. The character and temper of the inhabitants 
are well adapted to commerce. No people are more 
eager in pursuit of wealth. In this, their favorite 
object, they are often led too far. It is thought by 
some to be the foible in their national character. 



174 LltERATURE. 



LITERATURE. 



Tt is hoped that the foreigner, into whose hands 
this book may fall, will not too hastily judge, that the 
author is attempting to eulogize his native country. 
We are willing he should set down liberally to the 
account of national attachment ; but it is our pro- 
fessed intention to state simple facts. 

Regarding the literature of the United States as 
one entire object — ^judging impartially, and deciding 
with severity, we are compelled to say, that it is on a 
footing not only favorable, but hie^hly flattering to the 
present and rising generation. We shall here repeat 
an observation, which has indeed often been made, but 
wiiich, if true, cannot be made too often, nor dwelt 
upon too long : it is that the lower class of people in 
this country are better informed, than the same class 
in any other country in the world. This observation 
applies with peculiar force to the northern states. 

'J'hat can be said of the United States, which can- 
not with justice be said of any other nation, viz. that 
all our citizens are, by sonje means or other, placed 
within the reach of a good education. Those whose 
advantages are worst, can scarcely be excluded from 
this rule, and, in general it applies with certainty 
and strength. 

In some of the states, schools are made a public 
expense, and are supported by a regular assessment 
and tax. Every man pays, not according to the num- 
ber of his children, but according to the value of his 
estate. It is greatly to be lamented, that this is not 
universally the case. It can be viewed in no other 
light, than as the firmest pillar of national liberty, 
prosperity and happiness. The ignorance of the 
common people, is the certain prelude to their pov- 
erty and slavery. 

The surprising dilTerence between the people of 
those states, who have lone: felt the benign influence 



I^ITERATURi:. 175 

df these institutions, and others, speaks more loudly 
on this subject, and paints it in stronger colors, than 
are within the reach of tongues or pencils. But even 
in those states where education is not made the ob- 
ject of legislative provision, industry and frugality- 
can seldom fail to procure the means of acquiring a 
competent education. Where those means appear to 
be most wanting, that defect is obviously the result 
of criminal negligence in the people ; and can neither 
be ascribed, in any degree, to their necessary penury, 
nor the spirit of their government. 

Throughout every part of the United States there 
are, or may, and probably will be such schools as will 
lay a broad and respectable foundation for the instruc- 
tion of the great body of the people. How happy 
would it be, if every state would establish schools by 
law! In many instances, it would rescue the poor 
from ignorance, and it would ultimately free the 
country itself from those consequences, which every 
virtuous republican ought most to dread and deplore. 

A material defect in our present system of educa- 
tion, is observable in th^ neglect, which too many 
people are guilty of, relative to the qualifications of 
the teachers of their schools. Allured merely by 
cheapness, they often send tlieir children to be taught 
by persons utterly unqualified ; they thus repose the 
most important trust in persons destitute of every 
degree of merit. If in any case it is necessary to 
employ a workman, who is master of his business, it 
is certainly so in the case of a school-master: and 
if moral qualifications are requisites in any profession, 
they should not be neglected in his, to whom is en- 
trusted the immensely important task of forming the 
minds of our children. 

Academical schools have of late years, become nu- 
merous, and their number is still rapidly increasing. 
They form an intermediate grade between colleges 
and common schools. From them great benefit re- 
sults. In every neighborhood, where they are found^ 



176 LITERATURE. 

a number of youth are cither fitted for college, or so 
well educated as to enter with advantage upon the 
mechanical or conamercial professions. 

In the United States, there are several respectable 
and flouristiing colleges, in which young men are 
carried through the various branches of a polite and 
liberal education. The most important of these, at 
present, are Cambridge^ Yale, and Princeton, Cam- 
bridge college is the best endowed of any in the 
United States. 

The great increase of books in the United States, 
may be considered both as the cause and the effect 
of increasing taste and information. Books have 
multiplied, both from original production and impor- 
tation, far more rapidly, than people to read them. 
Still, however, regarding the whole mass of popula- 
tion, books cannot be said to be very plenty in this 
country. Although we have many^ men of learning, 
yet eminent erudition is rarely acquired, for want of 
access to proper sources of knowledge in this infant 
country ; and for want of those liberal fortunes, 
which, in Europe, are sometimes lavished to foster 
genius. 

The encouragement of genius, by opulent men, is 
a thing scarcely known in our country, where to get 
what you can^ and keep what you have got, is a funda- 
mental maxim with all classes : nor is it very strange 
that this maxim is so steadily pursued, since it is 
regarded as the only clue to weaUb, and since to this 
most of the best estates owe their existence. 

It must be confessed, tliat our country has not, as 
yet, produced many literary works of superior merit. 
We have few men of leisure, or of very eminent 
learning : but if compared with the nations of Eu- 
rope, as to numbers, resources, and duration, wo 
shall not be found deticient, Indeed, the inference, 
from such a comparison, will be found highly in our 
favor. To suppose ourselves equal to the august 
liierati of Europe, or nearly equal to them, with our 



LITERATURE. 1 77 

inferior advantages, wouM be to set our powers 
genius far above theirs. 

The United States can, as }e(, boast of no such 
prodigies in literature. But we have men whose 
attainments in the various branches of learning are 
decent and respectable ; and whose names will be 
transmitted with honor to posterity. We are doubt- 
less warranted in the assertion, that no country or 
nation, in so short a time, has exhibited more numer^ 
ous specimens of literary merit. 

The numerous periodical papers, of late years 
established in this country, have had a share of influ- 
ence in promoting knowledge. It is impossible to 
form any conjecture concerning the number of maga- 
zines, museums, and newspapers now daily published. 
Several of them are of a moral and religious nature 
- — are ably conducted, and have unquestionably been 
attended with very beneficial eifects. 

It must be confessed, that newspapers are not al- 
ways to be regarded as the purest channels of politi- 
cal intelligence. They are too generally devoted to 
party, and of course to private views. And since 
this article is before us, we cannot omit the occasion 
of observing, that several of our public papers have 
been conducted, not by party men, but by foreigners, 
who, could it be presumed that they understand the 
nature of our government and civil policy, are utterly 
incapable of feeling any interest in, or concern for 
either. They are in quest of wealth and fame, and 
are decidedly of that description of fortune-hunters, 
who feel no delicacy in the choice of expedients to 
accomplish their purposes. That they pursue the 
course the}^ do, is no matter of surprise, since thej 
act from temper, habit, and necessity. But it is mat- 
ter of serious regret, that the people of our country 
should give them countenance — be led by them, and 
look up to them as their political guides. 

We repeat the observation, that those foreigners, 
generally speaking, who have carried on several pub- 
35 



178 LITERATURE. 

lie papers, and have made much editorial noise in our 
country, are, by no means, to be considered as party 
men. They have, indeed, been the tools of party ; 
but they arc of any side, which suits their imperious 
necessities : they are any thing — they are every 
thing — they are nothing. 

We hope we shall not be thought impertinent, 
when we ask. What would be the fate of an American 
printer who should go into London, or Paris, and set 
up his political manufactory upon as large a scale as 
those foreigners do amongst us ? lie should tell them 
plainly what his designs were : for these fellows are 
seldom guilty of taciturnity. He should, in fact, 
begin thus — ''Gentlemen, you are an unhappy peo- 
ple : you have great advantages ; but do not know 
how to improve them. 1 have come among you to 
be your saviour — to diffuse light through your be- 
nighted regions. In the lirst place, 1 shall correct 
the abuses of your government, and reduce all things 
to the uniform rule of justice : I shall change your 
ministry, w hich ought not to remain any longer in 
the hands of such men as now are in power; and I 
shall put up certain persons who will do you ample 
justice. As 1 have leisure, I shall look into all your 
departments of state, and I pledge myself I will 
never cease, till I have regulated your nation,^'' 

A style like this, from a foreigner, would not pass 
current in any nation, but our own. We have heard 
it, shall I say, with patience — with applause — v/ith 
gratitude. Many of our simple citizens, and simple 
indeed they must be, have looked up to these loqua- 
cious parrots, who, to be sure, recite their lessons 
with wonderful volubility, and have been ready to 
exclaim, It is the voice ofGod^ and not man. 

They have allected to be at the head of the great 
parties into which our country has been unhappily 
divided. They have dealt abundantly with great men 
and great things — have, in short, affected to be the 
scourgers and purifiers of the times. The fact is, 



NATIONAL ACADEMY. 179 

their presses have been the common sewers of the 
times, from which have issued streams of filth and 
falsehood sufficient to overwhelm and drown every 
thing but immortal truth and virtue. 

NATIONAL ACADEMY. 

The existence of an institution of learning, found- 
ed on such principles, and embracing such objects of 
instruction as would entitle it to be called a national 
academy, could it fairly be accomplished, must be of 
great utility and importance. The progress of our 
schools and colleges, considering the age and re- 
sources of the country, is certainly respectable and 
highly flattering to the enterprise and genius of our 
people. There seems, however, to be wanting an 
important wheel in the system ; which, without im- 
pairing the value of any one now in motion, might 
act as a primary moving power, and communicate 
energy and stability to the whole extensive machine. 

It may bethought a degree of arrogance and pre- 
sumption to carry our suggestion, on a subject of such 
delicacy and importance, any further. But waving 
an extreme sensibility to diffidence and reserve, we 
shall further suggest, that the institution contemplat- 
ed, should embrace the general circle of science sup- 
posed to be included in a libcj*al education. That, 
in a special manner, the Icai'ned languages and math- 
ematics should be taught much farther than they 
commonly are, in this country. For, it must be con- 
fessed, that our college graduates are, as a body, 
very deficient in those essential branches of learning. 
Though some of our colleges, at the present time, are 
making noble exertions to remedy these defects. 

The English language is professedly taught in all 
our schools of learning. It is, however, not cultivat- 
ed in a manner best calculated to give it that perfec- 
tion, which is desirable, and probably attainable. 
Though professedly taught, it seems to be for the 



180 NATIONAL ACADEMY. 



a 



most part overlooked and lost in the rapid succcssio 
of numerous objects considered as more directly clas-^ 
sical ; and scholars retire from school without bring 
perfected, or even well grounded, in orthography, 
etymology, syntax or prosody. It thence happens 
that the language of the nurse ever predominates 
over that of the; master, provincial dialects prevail, 
and the redection, sometimes cast upon our colleges, 
proves but too true, that a collegian as such, is sel- 
dom a good English scholar.'"'' 

History and government, emliracc some of the 
most important branches of knowledge, which ever 
invited the attention of man. Objects of such mag- 
Litude and splendor, should engai^^e and fix the atten- 
tion of young men more strongly, and for a much 
longer time, than is usual in our seminaries of learn- 
ing. Instead of forming a single science, their neces- 
sary elements combine a cluster of the most elevated 
sciences, and among classical pursuits they arc cer- 
tainly some of the most interesting. 

Oratory is taught in our colleges with litlle suc- 
cess. Boys, who have been well taught in grammar 
schools, are frequently observed to return from col- 
lege worse speakers, than they entered. This is not 
owing to inattention or want of skill in their tutors 
at college, but wholly to want of time. Sciences of 
such importance crowd on so fast, that, in fact, more 
time must be taken, or some things must be neglected. 

The learned professions have certainly been pur- 
sued in this country with success. But the advan- 
tages arising from an institution liberally endowed 
in these respects must be obvious to every reflecting 
mind. 

Several things must be perceived to be requisite to 
the establishment of such an academy. 

It must be made an object of legislative provision. 
Reliance could not be had on the resources of indi- 

* Ip it not desirable, tliat the English language should be more 
studied at college, even though other languages shonjd be studied 
less ? — Er». 



KiTlONAL ACADEMY. 181 

viduals. It is presumed that it might be made a pub- 
lic expense without increasing burdens, involving 
embarrassments, or exciting murmurs. It must be 
situated centrally, rather as to intelligence than ter- 
ritory. Its discipline must be strict; nor will it 
probably ever succeed, without its governing authori- 
ties can, in some way, be clothed with civil power. 
The instructors employed must be men of very great 
learning and abilities ; the qualifications for admit- 
tance must be high and distinguishing, and regulated 
both by age and attainments. The term of continu- 
ance should be much longer than is usual at public 
schools ; nor should a scholar be capable of receiv- 
ing degrees but by merit and a certain age. The 
libraries, apparatus, and salaries, and of course the 
funds of the institution must be great. 

Could such an institution be established in the 
United States, various important benefits would be 
derived from it. It would strongly tend to abolish 
provincial dialects, of course, to improve and perfect 
our own language, which at present, is in danger, 
from so wide a territory, such a compounded mass of 
society, and so feeble and disconnected a plan of edu- 
cation. Nor would its influence be less, in forming 
many eminent literary characters ; of which at pre- 
sent we cannot boast. The sciences of history and 
government ably instructed and deeply studied, would 
not fail of their salutary effect. 

This institution would rouse all the colleges in the 
several states to emulation, or rather would rouse the 
several states to patronize the colleges, and prove, in 
that way, a source of general improvement ; and by 
that nicans, we should soon rise to a level with the 
nations of Europe in point of literature. In one word, 
it would promote the great interests of literature and 
government, and from the operation of various causes, 
strengthen the harmony and union of the states. 

Several apparent singularities in the preceding 
plan have arisen from a strong conviction that boys 
35* 



132 NATIONAL ACADEMY. 

are generally allowed to finish their education too 
young. By these means many of our finest geniuses 
are lost to society, i'hey are sent very }oung to 
school, where, perhaps, tliey discover marks of genius, 
which excite great hopes of future excellence. Pa- 
rental fondness and the vain ambilion of the teacher 
press them rapidly, and of course, suj)erricially, 
through their studies. They are hastened away to 
college, enter, and perhaps graduate at fifteen or six- 
teen years of age. By the time they are eighteen, 
they need to enter freshmen, and go through the 
same course again, to make them decent scholars. 

It is clearly perceived, that various deviations from 
this plan might be necessary in case of actual experi- 
ment: hut not to enter into the merits of the main 
question relative thereto, we shall only observe, that 
there seem to be two defects in the plan of education 
pursued by the people of the United States. 'J'he 
first is the want of a sufficient number of men of em- 
inent erudition and literature. The preceding plan, 
or something similar, would tend to remedy this de- 
fect. The second is, the dangerous power the great 
body of the people have in their hands, to neglect 
the education of their children. Some of the wisest 
nations of antiquity considered that parents were not 
the proper persons to be trusted with the education 
of their children, on account of their natural affection 
and partiality for them. This matter, therefore, was 
under the direction of their council of state, and was 
thought one of its most weighty concerns, as most 
certainly it was. 

The happy efiect of establishing schools by law in 
every district of people of size sufficient for that pur- 
pose, has been demonstrated by experience in vari- 
ous parts of this country. Their townships are laid 
off into districts consisting of thirty or forty families 
each. In each of these a board of trustees, or more 
properly, a school committee, is appointed. It is the 
business uf this committee to provide a teacher, who 



RELIGION. 18S 

must be examined, approved and licensed ; and also 
to superintend the atfairs oi" the school. A sum of 
money is levied upon the town sufficient to pay the 
masters of the several schools, and is assessed upon 
every man, as other taxes are, according to his ratea- 
ble estate. This money is apportioned and paid out 
to the several districts, according to the number of 
children they contain over four and under sixteen 
years of age. This system has the following excel- 
lences : 

1. It compels every man to do his duty : and next 
to the duties a man owes to his Maker, probably 
none are more important, than thoso he owes to his 
children. 

2. If a m.m is compelled to pay his school tax, 
whether he send his children to school or not, he will 
be likely to send them. Whereas if his paying be 
optional, he will often be under a strong temptation 
not to pay, and, of course, neglect the education of 
his children. 

3. The poor who may have numerous families, 
will have little to pay, and yet may school all their 
children. 

4. Many rich men, who have few or no children, 
will pay liberally for the education of the children of 
the poor ; than which, they cannot make a more ac- 
ceptable offering in the sight of Heaven, or do man- 
kind a greater favor. 

These suggestions are made in the firm persuasion 
that the establishment of schools by law over this 
widely extended country will greatly conduce to pro- 
mote the happiness, and perpetuate the liberties of 
the people. 

RELIGION. 

It is extremely evident, that liberty of conscience 
is among the natural rights of mankind. Nothing 
can be more reasonable, than thataman should enjoy 



104 RELFGION. 

his own opinions concerning his Maker, and a future J 
state. But the unskilfulness of most nations has led ^i 
them so to blond religion with state policy, as to ren- 
der religious disputes a matter of temporal interest. 
Hence have originated innumerable persecutions and 
wars ; and the repose of nations has often been in-, 
terrupted by religious quarrels. J 

The Christian church had scarcely time to take* 
breath from the incessant persecutions of the Roman 
emperors, before she began to persecute her own 
refractory children. In the fury of her misguided 
zeal, she grew intolerant, haujrhty, and cruel, and, for 
several centuries, seemed to dispute the character of 
cruelty, with the worst of the heathen emperors. 
The reader of history is compelled to deplore the 
persecuting spirit, which seemed destined to reign 
and triumph in the midst of all the improvements of 
modern Europe — in the midst, we might almost say, of 
leai'ning, philosophy, and benevolence: for, however 
expanded the human mind became, however exalted 
by science and virtue, many of the wisest of men 
could not but think it right, that all should be com- 
pelled to think with them, and subscribe to their 
articles of faith. 

Some honorable efforts had been made in Europe 
toward emancipating the minds of men from this 
tyrannical chain : but that grand and noble work 
was efl'ected in this country. Here the Ruler of 
providence planted a nation, which, he desif]jned 
should give to the universe one illustrious specimen 
of religious freedom. This grand exhibition was to 
be made under every advantage. The experiment 
was not left to be effected by some petty tribe, some 
obscure horde, some remote clan in a narrow corner, 
but by a nation possessing one of the fairest, most 
opulent, and extensive political divisions of the earth; 
a nation grown numerous by natural population, rich 
by unparalleled industry, and powerful by its own 
inherent tirmness, bravery, and virtue. 



RELIGION. 185 

In the United States, the constitutions both of the 
general and state governments, breathe the purest 
spirit of religious liberty. There can be no greater 
proof of this, than that such a spirit prevails and 
reigns (lirough every part of the United States* 
There exists no subordination of sects or parties. Every 
man worships God according to the dictates of his 
own conscience. No one disturbs him; no one re- 
bukes him. The stern features of bigotry, if they 
exist, are kept covered under a double veil : the 
threatening voice of spiritual despotism is never 
heard. 

In the country, there are various religious denom- 
inations, such as Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Bap- 
tists, Quakers, Methodists, 8ic, If perfect harmony 
does not, in every instance prevail among them, it is 
more from accidental causes, than from any rancor 
occasioned hy their distinguishing tenets. While we 
cannot but observe the harmony of the different re- 
ligious sects with a degree of pleasure, we lament, 
that such difftrcnces should exist ; and especially, 
that the breach should be: unnecessarily \\idened,as it 
seems, in some cases, to be, where Christians put up 
more bars, than their tenets seem to require or justify. 

The enlightening and conversion of the heathen, 
have of late years, considerably engaged the atten- 
tion of the Christian world. Attempts have been 
made in Europe to send missionaries into various 
parts, for that purpose, and the people of the United 
States, have also been roused in their attention to 
the same salutary object; various denominations of 
Christians have severally combined their influence 
and exertions. It is ardently to be wished, that this 
business might so prosper, as to form the leading 
trait in the religious character of these times ; and, 
especially, that it might form an all-important era in 
the history of savage nations, by enrolling them with 
civilized and Christian people. 

Our debt to savage nations, both of reparation and 
benevolencej is immense. If the Christian be the 



186 RELIGION. 

true and only saving religion, of what importance it 
is, that they should know it! Their instruction and 
improvement form an object not unworthy even of 
the patronage of government. The voice of hu- 
manity loudly bewails their deplorable condition. 
We may safely affirm, that legislative interference is 
often employed in matters ofle^s magnitude; but we 
may rest assured, that the government of this country 
will, at least, smile on the benevolent designs and 
endeavors of individuals, and will smooth the way 
for their accomplishment.* 

If the prejudices of heathens against Christianity 
are strong; they are fortified in them by facts of a 
mo^t stubborn and glaring nature. They judge of 
this rcdigion, to them unknown, by what they con- 
sider the best means of judging, the conduct of na- 
tions professing it. A history of the aggressions of 
Clnistian nations upon the heathen, would form a 
volume of the most glaring crimes. On this score, 
what a catalogue of enormities would be found in the 
<;ountrie3 and islands of India, in Africa, in the West- 
Indies, in South America, and in various parts of 
North America. What oppression, injustice, and 
monstrous outrage, the defenceless people of those 
unerdightened climes, have suffered, from nations pro- 
fessing the just, holy, humane and pacitic principles 
of (Christianity ! 

For those nations, thus suffering, thus bleeding 
with recent wounds, it is natural to view in one light 
the professor, and the religion professed. 

To this, as a principal cause, it is doubtless owing, 
that so great a part of the world still remains heatheit. 
Those nations, who have been favored most with thie 
light of science and truth, have improved their 
superior advantages to the injury and ruin of their 
fellow-creatures less informed. While Christians, as 

* The patronage extended by our government to the Cherokee 
and Chocktaw missions, cannot but excite the gratitude of ever/ 
benevolent heart. -.-liii). 



I 



HKLIGION. 187 

a body, conducted agreeably to their principles, while 
ihey behaved like subjects of the Prince of peace, 
success attended their doctrines, their institutions 
spread with rapidity, and their missionary labore 
were not in vain. But those happy da}s have been 
Jong past. Christian nations, once having become 
jiQwerful, thought no more of converting the heathen 
but by the point of the sword : and they have carried 
on this mode of conversion upon the most extensive 
scale, and with a high hand. Millions have fallen a 
sacrifice, and the remnant have only survived to hate, 
abhor, and curse the Christian name, from father to 
son, forever. 

It is time to think of reparation. But, alas ! what 
amends can be made for past ages, and for innumer- 
able millions ? 1 forbear to mention the awful repara- 
tion which even now may be preparing for their ruin. 
Almighty Providence has their destroyers in his hand ; 
but their blood, even the atrocious guilt of their 
destruction, has descended and rests on the heads of 
Christian powers now on the stage of action. They, 
too, are in the hand of the same just Providence, 
Avhich has determined their fall. The present severe 
commotions can only be regarded as the movements 
of that high and dreadful wheel, which will pass over 
and crush them, and cause them to become like cliaff 
of the summer threshing-floor. 

May we hope that our infant country is reserved 
to a happier destiny? Such a hope can only be 
grounded on the idea of our cleaving wholly to the 
Christian character. If we do this, we shall not only 
enjoy the smiles of Heaven, and the solid and lasting 
benefits of divine protection, but we shall look on the 
poor savages, on our borders, as our unhappy breth- 
ren, and shall not only treat them vvilh clemency, 
but make every possible exertion for their instruction 
and salvation. 

It cannot be doubted, thai the perfect religious free- 
<3oin prevalent in this country, is, in some instances, 



188 GOVERNMENT. 



I 



improved to the purposes of licentiousness. It pro- 
bably tends to promote and cherish a great diver- 
sity of opinions : perhaps it is often attended with 
gross neglects of religious institutions, such as the 
Sabbath, and attendance on public worship. It has 
been accused of favoring infidelity, and leading to 
the utter neglect and contempt of all reh'gion. Ex- 
perience, however, refutes the accusation. It is con- 
fidently presumed, that religion is regarded with as 
much sincerity in this countrj^, as in any, where 
there is less religious freedom. 

But should it even be granted that libertinism, in 
some instances, seems to be rather encouraged by i 
such unbridled freedom, as well might one urge, as 
an objection to free government, that it tends to li- 
centiousness in th« people. The important and in- 
calculable benefit resulting from our religious system^ 
is the general diffusion of ligfit and knowledge. 
When a man is left to choose his own rcllj^ion, the 
moment he is convinced that important consequences 
are likely to result from his choice, he begins to listen, 
to inquire, to examine, to discuss. He fiiids others 
engaged in the same pursuit. They prompt, encour- 
age, and aid one another. It thence happens that no 
other country on earth equals this for religious in- 
quiries. Nor is there any country, where the people, 
as a body, are so well infurmed in religious matters. 

GOVERXMEXT. 

The government of the United States seems to be 
without a parallel. We find nothing like it in modern 
times. Anciently the Greeks had something, which 
resembled it ; but that resemblance was indeed re- 
mote and feeble. Their Amphictyonic council was 
little different from an assembly of embassadors, 
saving that they met regularly both as to time and 
place; and, when convened, their proceedings were 
more like some kind of supreme court, than a repre- 
sentative legislative body. 



GeVERNMENT. 189 

(^ur government is no less singular as to its nature, 
than as to its origin. It is, perhaps, the only govern- 
ment which, in all its parts, was the result of plan, 
foresight, or design. Most governments have been 
jumbled into existence, from mere accident, by a con- 
currence of unforeseen events. Great things have 
grown from small beginnings. IMen have l)ecn fa- 
tigued into compliance with the dictates of prompt 
and daring ambition ; and have acquiesced in a sys- 
tem of arbitrary power. But in our case, a number 
of men, competent to so great a work, sat down and 
planned our government. Before them lay the legis- 
lation of past ages. They saw the rocks and shoals, 
on which many have dashed. They did what they 
could for our benelit. The plan they formed was 
dictated by their knowledge of our circumstances; 
and it is probably the ablest and best plan of govern- 
ment, ever formed by man. 

In all human concerns, theory and practice are 
often found to dillcr. We shall not so far infringe 
upon the sphere of the politician, as to meddle 
with the practical part, that is, the administration of 
our government : nor shall we take any other notice 
of the theory, than as a mere matter of speculation. 
No human government can be perfect. Of course, 
the best ever devised by mortal man, must be subject 
to changes, inconveniences, weaknesses, and, ulti- 
mately, to dissulution. Man himself must fail; and 
can it be thought strange, that all his works should, 
in that respect, resemble him? 

Some writers insist, that a government, in order to 
have virtue, strength, and duration, must combine the 
three principles of monarchy, aristocracy, and demo- 
cracy. It cannot be doubted,'that monarchy is the 
strongest form of government; that aristocracy has 
the most wisdom ; and democracy, the most virtue.^ 
Could a government be formed, wiiich would unite' 
the strength of monarchy without its tyranny ; the 
wisdom of aristocracy without its ambition; and the 
36 



190 GOVERNMENT. 

virtue of democracy without its weakness and folly, 
that form would be the best. 

Our government is wholly without the monarchical 
branch : it only combines aristocracy with republi- 
canism. The probability is, that, though republican 
in theory, it will, in the course of events, become, in 
a great measure, aristocratic. Our executive power 
is weak, and the aristocratic tendency of the whole 
machine too obvious to escape the notice of any one 
who looks attentively at it. Power and influence can 
never be long separated from wealth. Many govern- 
ments, in theory, have professed to confer honor and 
office according to merit. No theory has been more 
specious than ours. But, in this country, the honors 
and offices will be controlled by a chain of influence, 
whose last link will be made fast by a golden staple. 
True, it may be said that our government is elective, 
and almost every man is eligible to office. But what 
is our chief magistrate? He is elevated at the head 
of several millions of people. If there is such a 
thing as a natural aristocracy in society, he must be 
from that class. He must be a man of the most 
elevated dignity — a man of a mind far superior 
lo other men, and whose life, character, circum- 
stances, and fortunes have combined to raise him far 
above the common level. Hence, though the oftice 
is elective, yet it is as completely beyond the reach 
of the great mass of the people, as though it were 
hereditary. 

Let it be supposed, that there are seven men in the 
United States, adequate to the discharge of the duties 
of President. Their depth can only|be fathomed, and 
their qualifications traced, by men of nearly equal 
capacity. The great body of the people never saw, 
and never will see, those seven. They must be made 
known to the community, by men of an intermediate 
grpde of intelligence, who are still far above the com- 
mon level. Perhaps one hundred men must be the 
sources of intelligence to the millions who compose 



GOVERNMENT. 191 

the nation. Nor yet can this hundred act upon the 
community, but by another intermediate grade, con- 
sisting, we will say, of a thousand. Thus it appears, 
that our right of suffrage, in the election of our chief 
magistrate, is an immensely complicated system of 
influence, interest, favor, confidence, and proxy. A 
chain of influence, composed of ten thousand links, 
and divided into ten thousand branches, descends 
with tortuous course to the great body of the people. 
Nobody can tell where, or how, it begins. If it is 
corrupt in its source, it seldom grows purer in its 
propagation ; or, if it arise from a pure fountain, it is 
often checked and defeated in its progress. One man 
tells me to vote for A — another tells me to vote 
for B. I know nothing of A or B, but from the dis- 
tant and discordant murmurs of common fame. I 
decide the important question, therefore, not by 
comparing the qualifications of A and B, but by 
balancing the integrity and good sense of two per- 
sons much nearer me, by whom A and B are recom- 
mended. 

And who are the senators of the United States ? 
They are two in number from each state. They 
should be, as all acknowledge, men of great abilities, 
great integrity, and supereminent virtue. They can 
be found only in the highest and most dignified walks 
of life. They must be men, the general current of 
>vhose lives has evinced their greatness and integrity 
— of course, men rarely to be found. They must be 
selected from the happy few, who, by a peculiar des- 
tiny, are fit to be entrusted with the most arduous 
and important concerns of a nation. The right of 
suffrage, therefoie, in the great body of the people, 
avails no more than this, viz. to say which one of 
the few shall be the man ; nor can they say that, till 
they are told which one shall be the man, by somebody 
who knows him better than they do. 

The same observations apply with equal force to 
the choice of the members of the house of represen- 



192' GOVERNMENT. 

fatives. We will suppose, that each member of ih^i 
house has forty thousand constituents : not one fourth 
of them have any personal knowledge of him, nor 
any knowledge of him, but by information from, per- 
haps, some man, who knows some man, who knows 
some man, &c. who knows him better than they do. 
It amounts to this, that, from among the few qualified 
for that important office, one must be selected ; and 
it should be the one, who is the best among forty thou- 
sand. As a general principle, it will happen, that this 
office will be obtained by the most opulent, influential, 
or intriguing men in society — men elevated far above 
the common level ; and sometimes men who are 
strangers to the views, feelings, and interests of the 
great body of the people. Therefore, although we 
have no titles of nobility in our country, yet all the 
branches of government being organized and made 
up of men of a class superior in point of intellect, in- 
terest, influence, and, we might add, of intrigue, it 
can scarcely be doubted that it will, one day or other, 
tend to aristocracy. 

A government, composed of branches from diffeiV 
ent classes of men, which branches, in the proper ex- 
ercise of their powers will be actuated by an opposi- 
tion of interest and prerogative, will check and bal- 
ance itself, and by action and re-action, will preserve 
an equilibrium ; but when all parts of government 
are from men of one class — have but one interest, 
and lean the same way, the consequence is obvious. 
In a word, in the formation of governments, allow- 
ance should be made for man as a selfish being; and, 
in the ditferent branches, that selfishness should be 
so situated as to impel them in different directions. 
When a man's interest leads him to do right, we have 
the surest pledge of his conduct. 

In our country, the vast objects to be disposed of 
by periodical and frequent elections, will be a fruitful 
source of contention, difficulty and danger. The am- 
plest field for chicanery and intrigue, will be opened 



GOVERNMENT. 19B 

that ever existed. Merit is generally modest, and 
rather seeks concealment, while ambition assumes a 
thousand forms of disguise, stoops to the meanest 
arts, and is always noisy for the public good. 

The co-existent powers of the general and state 
governments, especially in the legislative and judi- 
ciary departments, render the whole machine as com- 
plicated, as it is great. It will require time, and, it 
is feared, more wisdom and virtue than are common 
to mankind, to define their respective limits, to adjust 
duly their interfering claims, to extend or restrain 
their jurisdictions, as may be necessary on future 
emergencies. 

One of the most serious evils, to which the constitu- 
tion of our government is liable, (and the same may 
be said of all written constitutions,) is the power, 
caprice, ambiguity, and fallacy of construction. The 
instrument is very concise, though perhaps nothing 
of a similar nature was ever more explicit and intelli- 
gible. The political tactician, however, can easily 
demonstrate that no system of law or form of gov- 
ernment can be couched in such language as to be 
beyond the reach of sophistry. The clearest, most 
forcible, and positive expressions, are liable to con- 
structions, glosses, colorings, and pervc sion. It is 
remarkable that some of the greatest and most im~ 
portant political disputes in this country have arisen 
respecting the intent and meaning of the constitution. 
In those disputes, not only the people at large, but 
even statesmen, have actually taken different sides, 
and maintained the controversy in the most strenuous 
manner. 

But without virtue in the people — indeed, without 
great wisdom and circumspection, the best theory 
that ever existed on paper, will be like a paper wall 
opposed to the cannon's mouth. The wisest regula- 
tions, the best laws, will be censured as unconstitu- 
tional, through mere perversion : the constitution 
itself will be assailed, under pretext of amendment; 
36* 



194 GOVERNMENT. 

it will be curtailed, mutilated, undermined, and 
destroyed. Nothing can prevent evils of this nature, 
but public virtue. 

The vast disparity among the different states will 
ultimately prove a source of danger to our govern- 
ment. So long as human nature remains what it now 
is, men will not fail to avail themselves of the power 
put into their hands, and, genei'ally, to selfish pur- 
poses. While some of the states are as large as the 
kingdoms of Europe, others are quite diminutive, 
and, on the principle of equal representation, must 
have little inllucnce in the general government. An 
equality in the Senate can by no means give the small 
states an equi-ponderance, since in the lower house, 
the essential laws of the union generally originate. 
On this rock, the Grecian republics were ruined. 
Though it must be confessed, we are far better pro- 
vided for against the evil, than they were, yet our 
provision may prove inefiectual : the larger states 
w ill be likely to predominate and govern. This will 
occasion negotiations, combinations, and intrigues, 
till, at length, Lacedemon^ Atkens^ov Thebes, will rule 
the rest. 

The theorist cannot but see defect in our judiciary 
system. The judiciary department, under every free 
government, is the proper guard of the laws: but, in 
our country, the laws of the union are, in a great 
measure, left to the guardianship of courts, whose ex- 
istence depends on the state legislatures. It may, 
indeed, be said, that this will serve to guarantee the 
liberties of each state. Will it do this? or rather 
will it not repose the security of the general govern- 
ment on the virtue of each individual state? — a prop 
too feeble for the weight it sustains. The causes, of 
which the federal court holds jurisdiction, are few, 
and of small importance, compared with the vast pe- 
cuniary concerns of the state courts ; while, on the 
other hand, the legislative concerns of the general 
government, as much outweigh those of the sererii! 



GOVERNMENT. 195 

States. It amounts to this, that the legislative power 
of this country is hoUlcn by the general government; 
the judicial by the several states. It will also serve 
to set this matter in a stronger light, by observing 
that it has been the manifest policy of some of the 
larger states to lessen the sphere, and diminish the 
importance of the federal courts. 

No organ of government can be considered as com- 
plete, in which there does not exist a plenitude of 
legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The gen- 
eral government legislates, and looks to the state 
judiciaries for the carrying of its laws into effect. But 
if, as many assert, the state governments are to ope- 
rate as a check upon the general government ; if 
they are to be considered as the anchor of our liber- 
ties, how plausible will be their pretext, and how fre- 
quent their opportunities for opposing the laws of the 
union. In the present calm of public passion, and 
reign of virtue, while, as yet, many of those patriots 
are alive, who first asserted and accomplished our 
freedom from a foreign yoke, there is, perhaps, little 
danger from these sources ; but the time may come 
when things shall be quite altered. Such a time 
probably will come long before our population shall 
equal the means of subsistence in our countr}^ 

To give symmetry and permanence to our system 
of government, one would be induced, from pursuing 
the preceding train of reflections, to think that our 
federal judiciary should be as extensive in its juris- 
diction as the legislature. Perhaps, however, the 
importance of the state judiciaries is necessary to the 
subsistence of the states in their distinct capacity. 
How far, and in what sense arc the individual states 
independent ? p{ow far are they consolidated ? What 
is the nature and strength of their union ? How 
is that union to be preserved? and how long will it 
last ^ 



1 96 GOVERNMENT. 

THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOVERIVMENT AS IT 
RELATES TO FOREIGNERS. 

No government was ever more benevolent or lib- 
eral to foreigners, than that of the United States. It 
has holden out to them the greatest encouragements; 
nor has it disappointed their expectations. When 
arrived in this country, they have been fostered and 
cherished with the greatest care and sympathy for 
their lonesome and exiled condition. They have 
been taken by the hand, not only by our citizens, but 
by the government itself. They have not only been 
aided in business, but have been made citizens, and 
honored with the public confidence, by appointments 
to offices under the government. 

The object of our people and of the government 
itself, in tliis matter, has doubtless first been to pro- 
mote emigrations from Europe. The first settlers in 
this country, while it was yet a mighty wilderness, 
considered themselves as in a kind of voluntary exile. 

They seemed for a long time to want nothing so 
much as inhabitants. Even after they had grown so 
numerous, as to feel no fear of the savages, still there 
was an almost boundless continent before them. 
They felt the want of people on all accounts ; to 
clear olT the woods ; to cultivate the lands ; to carry 
on the manual arts ; to promote the liljeral sciences; 
and, in short, for all the grand objects of peace and 
war. 

To them, nothing was so desirable, as the arrival 
of new settlers. They solicited emigrations, and re- 
ceived and caressed strangers from all nations with 
the utmost warmth and sincerity. 

This disposition becoming habitual and universal, 
it descended from father to son, and lost nothing even 
by that revolution, which severed us from Great 
Britain, and made us an independent nation. When 
the present federal government was formed, it could 



GOVERNMENT. 197 

not but savor of those notions of government which 
were co-extensive with the Anglo-Americans, and 
had been coeval with their first settlement in this 
country. An immense country ; few people ; a ter- 
ritory, but the margin of which was as yet settled; 
universal liberty, both civil and religious ; freedom of 
thought and speech ; great sincerity of mind and sim- 
plicity of manners ; respect for, and confidence in 
strangers coming to live among us ; were objects 
Avhose influence predominated in the minds of all 
classes, not excepting those who formed our state 
constitutions. 

To increase the population of our extensive terri- 
tories, provision was made for the encouragement of 
emigration. The warm benevolence of individuals, 
prompted them to institute societies for the aid of 
emigrants, and legal provision was made, that, in a 
short time, and with little trouble, they might become 
our fellow-citizens, and partake of all the privileges 
and immunities of our country. Nor did our zeal to 
promote the cause of foreigners stop here. Several 
of them, in various parts, were promoted to offices of 
considerable trust and importance, and were allowed 
to share largely in the honors, powers, and emolu- 
ments of government. 

The people of the United States in their favor to 
foreigners, were prompted by purer motives, than 
those of a selfish nature. Although they saw their 
interest in an increase of population, yet humanity 
itself, and that of the most generous and elevated 
nature, had much influence in this business. They 
wished their country might be an asylum for the poor 
and oppressed from all nations. It was their ambi- 
tion to give strangers, who wanted a country and a 
home, so welcome a reception, and afford them such 
privileges, as to eflface from their memories the days 
of their affliction and distress, or to cause them to be 
remembered only to heighten the contrast of their 
present good fortune and feliGity* Many an unhappy 



1^8 OOVERNMENt. 

exile can, with great propriety, say, / was a strnngo' 
and yc took vie in. 

It is not unlikely, however, that the future histo- 
rian will be compelled to say, that our government, 
in relation to foreigners, erred through excess of be- 
nevolence and urbanity. In general the incentives 
to enHi,aation were both needless and unsafe. From 
the natural progress of population, our increase was 
great almost without a parallel. Far distant from 
the desolating wars of Europe, our fathers dwelt in 
the bosom of peace and plenty, and, under the smiles 
of Providence, had yearly accessions of strength 
more to be relied on, than mercenary armies, or any 
description of foreign emigrants. 

'i'hc rapid increase of any nation, by means of an 
influx of foreigners, is dangerous to the repose of that 
nation ; especially if tjje number of emigrants bears 
any considerable proportion to the old inhabitants. 
Fvrn if that proportion is very small, tho tendency 
of the thins is injurious, unless the new comers are 
niore ci\ ilized and more virtuous, and have at the 
same time, tfie same ideas and feelings about govern- 
ment. But if they are more vicious, they will cor- 
rupt ; if lej-s industrious, they will promote idleness; 
if they have ditferent ideas of government, they 
will contend ; if the same, they will intrigue and 
interfere. 

The people, brought up in the bosom of the British 
kingdoms, are essentially different from us, both in 
their views and feelings about government. Though 
they may use the same words that we use ; though 
they express the same abhorrence of tyranny and op- 
pression, yet liberty, considered as a creature of the 
mind, is with them a difiercnt thing from what it is 
with us. It is no difficult matter to account for the 
licentious views of libcrtv, and the romantic ideas of 
the freedom of this country, entertained by the lower 
classes of Europeans. From their infancy they have 
associated with government and law, the idea ©f 



aOVERNMENT. 199 

tyranny and injustice, and with liberty, a state of 
society as unre:?trained, as a state of nature. When 
they come into this country and tind law and govern- 
ment of a sterner cast than they had figured to them- 
selves, they soon grow discontented and seek for a 
revolution. 

The history of Rome furnishes a striking instance 
of the deplorable effects of an influx of strangers into 
a country. After the Romans had conquered Car- 
thage, (jrcece, Asia, and Gaul, Italy presently was 
filled with enterprising emigrants from all quarters. 
Though they came, as it were, singly, and as humble 
suppliants, yet they, in effect, conqpcrcd their con- 
querors. They inundated all Italy. I'he majei«ty of 
the ancient Romans was obscured, overwhelmed, and 
utterly lost in an innumerable swarm of foreigners.) 
The evil came on by slow and imperceptible degrees/ 
but was at last irresistible and fatal. These were 
the persons generally employed in the civil wars. A 
multitude made up of such people is alwa^^s fickle, 
inflammatory, outrageous, vindictive, and burning 
with ambition to level all distinctions. 

It is not a common case, that the most valuable 
members of society emigrate. As it was in the days 
of David, whosoever was in debt, or discontented, or 
in distress, fled to the cave of Adullam, and by that 
means his army grew apace ; so it generally is in 
cases of emii^ration. Though many worthy charac- 
ters are found in so great an emigration as has been 
to this country, yeti for the most part, they are poor, 
distressed, overwhelmed witli calamities, discontent- 
ed, op[)rcssed by the tyranny of their government 
somtUiiiies, but more commonly, by their own vices 
or imprudence. 

The pcoj)le of evory country are the most suitable 
to govern their own country. Could IMtt and Fox 
be restored to life, they would not make good legis- 
lators in America. If", indeed, in a few illustrious 
instances it would do, as there is no general rule 



200 GOVERNMENT. 

• 

without exceptions, yet the principle here laid down, 
is certainly correct. In whatever country, foreign- 
ers interfere with government, the tendency of that 
interference is a change either for better or for 
worse ; and the tendency of changes, especially when 
the effect of blind causes, is but too wrll known. 

The frame of our government is probably as fault- 
less, as can be expected in this imperfect world. Its 
ultimate success must then depend upon its being 
wisely administered. Uelative to that article, our 
security lies in our elections. As, in our form of 
government, the right of suflfrage is among the most 
important of civil rii,'hts, it should be preserved invi- 
olate ; but it should be guarded with the severest 
caution. Foreigners, who arrive in this country, 
seldom come with an expectation of becoming legis- 
lators here. I'hc.ir confidciKe in our government 
probably brought them hitlier, where they oui^ht not 
to hope for more than complete security of life, lib- 
erty, and property. More than such security would, 
in the end, work injury to themselves. 

To illustrate the subject, we will state an extreme 
case. We will suppose the government of the United 
States wholly given into the hands of strangers and 
foreigners. An arrangement of this nature, every 
one must see, would, by completely ruining the 
country, ruin all it contains, foreigners as well as 
citizens. From this, to descend to a case of a much 
lower nature, we will only suppose that vwcry for- 
eigner, on, or soon after his arrival, should be vested 
with some office of government. From such a pro- 
vision two great evils would arise: tir.-t, stiani;ers 
would flock to our shores in swarms and clouds, like 
the locusts of Egypt; nor would they all be of the 
most meritorious class : and secondly, the ofhcea 
filled by these people, would generally be wreti:hed- 
ly discharged. They would have neither the ability 
nor the disposition to discharge their duty, according 
to oar notions of duty : nor would it remedy the 



GOVERNMENT. iOl 

difficulty, should it be granted that their notions were 
more correct tlian ours. 

From both of the preceding cases, which are more 
or less extreme, we will now descend to the thing as 
it is. Every foreigner, soon aftrr his arrival in our 
countr3', by a course neither circuitous, expensive, 
nor long, becomes a citizen in the fullest sense. He 
is one of the sovereign people of this country — is an 
elector, and eli^ilde to many oftic(s. lie immediate- 
ly becomes a politician — is profound in the science 
of government — is able to set all things right. From 
}jis cradle, his ideas of law and government have 
been closely associated with the most direful images 
of fear, terror, and resentment ; and he views liberty 
as some wild, enchantins: mountain n>mph, roving 
through lields spread wide and adorned with flowers. 
^\'ith these views of law and liberty, he sets himself 
indefatigably at work, to mend tbe couise of things. 
He declaims against oppression, flames with zeal for 
liberty, and seldom fails (o be at the head or tail of 
innovation and rdurm, perhaps of insurrection. 

It is worthy of remark, that emigrants from Eu- 
rope are from a more advanced state of society, than 
is t,'enerally found in this country; or, at least, aa 
older state. It thence happens that many of them, 
even of the lowest grade, have a certain knowledge 
of mankind, the necessary result of mingling with an 
immense mass of population. This krio\\ ledge, in- 
deed, is chielly made up of vanity and vice; but it 
hel()s them to great volubility of tongue, smartness of 
repl}, and a seeming knowledge of things, which, 
handed out on all occasions, readily sets many peo- 
ple to staring at them as something extraordinary. 
For this very reason, many of them vulgarly pass for 
people of great iidbrmati(}n, especially in the circu- 
lating politics of the day ; of course they are pushed 
forward into offices of considerable responsibility. 

Hie republic of Athens guarded the avenues to cit- 
izenship with great strictness. With them, forc:i,n- 
37 



202 GOVERNMENT. 

crs could only become citizens in their great grand 
cliildren. 'J'lieir policy, in this respect, seemed not 
only safe, but necessary. Their state was so small, 
that, could foreigners have gained admittance, they 
would soon have outnumbered them. It is as dan- 
gerous to be outwitted as outnumbered; and it would 
be the true policy of the United States to admit no 
for( igner ever to the right of sufTruge. No person 
should hereafter become a citizen but by being born 
witliin the United States. 

I'ar he it that this rule should extend to the dis- 
franchising of such, as have by any means already 
obtained citizenship. IMany of them came among 
us, wh.cn their arrival was fortunate for us, and it 
should certairdy prove so to them. Their presence 
gave countenance^ and their assistance strength. But 
those days are past; and a similar occasion will 
neve I' return. 

Let foreigners fnul in this country an asylum of 
rest, an escape from opj)ression. Jleie let Ihenj bu}^ 
and build, and plant; let them spread and flourish, 
jiursuing interest and happiness in every mode of 
life which enterprise can suggest, or reason justify ; 
but let them be exonerated from tlie toils of govern- 
ment. AV^e do not need their hands to steady the ark. 
If we make good la.vs, they will share the benefit ; 
if bad ones, the blame will not be theirs. Lei their 
children, born among us, become citizens by birth- 
right. 

POPULAR KLECTIOXS. 

In elective governments the most important point 
lo be settled is, who shall have the right of suffrage? 
wiio shall be the electors? Surely, if this right were 
always to he exerci-cd by wise and virtuous men, 
none but such would be chosen into oflice. hut 
where the power to choose is lodged in bad hands, it 
is probable that bad men will be chosen. Hence the 



GOVERNMENT. 



203 



old but true maxim, that the happiness of elective 
governments, depends on the virtue of the people. 

The conduct of the people of the United States, 
hitherto, has been such as will entitle them to the 
character of a wise and virtuous people ; with, per- 
haps, some small deductions. Could it be relied on, 
that we should always remain as virtuous as wc now 
are, and perhaps a little more so, it must be granted, 
that the right of suffrage was put into exactly the 
right hands. Let us indulge the pleasing hope, that, 
as a nation, we shall not remain stationary in our 
present attainments of political virtue, but shall con- 
tinually progress in the same, and also in knowledge, 
till we shall become, to a man, a nation of patriots 
and statesmen. 

In spite of the most flattering hopes, considering 
the various means, by which the number of citizens 
is daily and rapidly increased, it must \)C allowed to 
be possible, that the people of this country will grow 
far more corrupt. They certainly have the commou 
inducements and temptations to that end. if ever 
the people of any country were corrupted by an in- 
tlux of foreigners of diifcrent habits, manners, and 
customs, we are in daiiger : If a sudden increase of 
wealth, luxury, eiTeminacy, extravagance, and dissi- 
pation ever corrupted any nation, we are in danger. 
If ii is possible for artful and designing men to assail 
the virtues of the lower class of people, to palm their 
ambitious schemes upon the unwary, to impose upon 
ignorance and simplicity, we are in danger. 

The causes of public corruption and national de- 
pravity, at first, are slow, and work unseen, 'i'hey 
begin to operate by insensible degrees ; and aiT al- 
ways perceived least by that part of the community, 
on which their operation is most fatal. If such causes 
exist in this country, however much the good sense 
and virtue of the people may retard their operation 
for a while, yet they may at length produce their ut- 
most ellccts; for the same causes, under similar 



/ 



204 GOVERNJVIENT. 

circumstances, will infallibly produce the same ef- 
fects. 

When that time shall come, (and it may prove to 
be a very distant day,) our elections will, in some 
degree, resemble those of ancient Rome, in the latter 
stages of the republic, when Cesar relied chiefly on 
an armed force, which he knew to be devoted to his 
interest, when Pompcy sought the favor of the peo- 
ple by popular laws, and when the opulent Crassus 
sought the same, by making dinners and various 
donations to a rabble, consisting of half a million of 
people. 

The right of suflfVage, in the hands of a multitude 
of ignorant, indigent, and vicious men, is but another 
name for throw ing the whole number of their votes 
in favor of any artful, aspiring demagogue, who will 
purchase them at the highest price. Nor are they, 
indeed, very costly, being purchased for the most 
part/ with empty flattery, and false promises.' The 
celebrated Crassus was probably the most liberal 
purchaser of popular favor, to be found in the annals 
of history. lie supported the poor of Rome at his 
own expense, for about nine months. It must have 
cost him ten millions of dollars, according to the 
present value of specie. The most unlucky part of 
the business was, that the rabble, after they had 
eaten up all he could well spare, in a most ungrateful 
manner forsook him for Pompey, who only tickled 
their ears with handsome speeches ; and Pompey 
they as soon forsook to gaze on the military splendor 
of Cesar. Cesar was far too generous and magnani- 
mous. They presently put him aside, and received 
in his place a stern, profound, and artful tyrant, un- 
der whom they humbly kissed the rod, and lay down 
to their burdens forever. 

If popular favor is sometimes cheaply purchased, 
it nevertheless always costs more than it is worth. 
For what is it? To answer this question, we need 
the pen of Shakspeare, who has given us a deflnitioa 



GOVERNMENT. 205 

of the word honor. It is an hour, or a day, or a 
month's existence in the blasting, pestiferous breath 
of foilj and falsehood. The favorite name undulates 
in air to-day with boisterous acclamations of praise; 
to-morrow with hideous imprecations and deadly 
curses ; and, at all times, with grosser fumes than 
float around the tables of the gods, after quaffing 
deeply of their immortal nectar. Yet demagogues, 
in every age, have made this same popularity their 
supreme deity : and many, poor souls ! who could 
not give what Crassus gave to purchase it, have giv- 
en mere — viz. their character, integrity, and con- 
science : at least, should character, integrity, and 
conscience be thought worth more than ten millions 
of dollars; of which probably, some may doubt. 

Should the time ever arrive, when there will be 
an immense multitude of people in the United States, 
and especially about the great cities, whose indigence 
will render them easily assailable by bribes, dona- 
tions, and largesses — whose peculiar circumstances 
will render them actuall}' dependent on the rich and 
enterprising, and whose habits of life and thinking 
will render them promptly subservient to the views 
of artful and ambitious men, at least by suffrage, if 
not by arms; it must be granted that at such a time, 
and under such circumstances, the right of suffrage 
would certainly give that class a weight in govern- 
ment, to which they are by no means entitled, upon 
any principle of equity, rational freedom, or public 
safety. Is not that time already come? It has come, 
but it never will be past: the evident symptoms by 
which its arrival is indicated will never slacken their 
urgency, but will gain strength with our population, 
from year to year. 

To determine who shall have the right of voting in 
a popular government, is not among the smallest dif- 
ficulties. JNo line of qualifications can be drawn, 
free from objection or embarrassment. If a plan 
could be devised, which would recognise the rights 
37* 



206 GOVERNMENT. 

of each indivitlual, and afford complete security to. 
the public, that would be the one to be preferred. 
If that is not attainable, the nearest approximation 
to it must be soui];ht. In a country like the United 
States, where the landed interest is by far the most 
important, where land is very plenty, and very cheap, 
landed property should, beyond doubt, be made a 
qualilication necessary to the right of suffiage. No 
person should be allowed to act as an elector, even of 
a state representative, but such as possessed real or 
landed properly. A regulation of this nature exists 
in some of the i^tates. Its happy inlluence is appa- 
rent, and will be more so. Those states, from that 
very cause, will preserve their liberties longer than 
any other part of the union. 

The rigiit of sullrage thus guarded, it must be con- 
fessed, that iri a few instances, injustice would seem 
to be the consequt nee. It would exclude some from 
voting — some who are certainly very amiable and 
useful members of society : but cases of this nature 
would be rare; and much rarer than might be ex- 
pected from a slight view of the subject. If it exclud- 
ed a few worthy persons, it would at least exclude a 
thousand to one who are certainly unworthy. 

It should be remcrnljered, that every person in this 
country, possessing prt)perty, of whatever description, 
might easily possess land. The popular objection to 
the measure, that it would disfranchise the mercan- 
tile interest, is certainly void of foundation. JMer* 
chiints have property, and, if for no other reason, 
they might [)urchase land, in order to comply with 
a regulation founded in the stroiigest reasons. The 
gre.tt body of those utterly unable to possess land are 
persons, to whom the right of voting would absolute- 
ly be no privilege. As for property or character to 
defend, they have none. Generally of the lowest 
gradi s of intellect and inf( rmation, they have n© 
puiitical theory lo espouse, or errors to combat. 



GOVERNMENT. 207 

These last observations apply exclusively to the 
lowest grade of people in and about great cities. In 
the country, every prudent, industrious man, knows, 
that he can, almost at his option, possess land. It is 
within his reach; and the savings of a few years' 
industry will purchase him a decent little farm, at 
least as large as that of the great Cincinnatus. In 
the states above alluded to, where landed property is 
made requisite to the elective franchise, prodigious 
benefits are found to result from the regulation, to 
the people themselves. It stimulates them to seek 
and acquire real property. A man there disdains 
the idea of not being a freeholder. He immediately 
sets himself about purchasing a little land : Ambition 
spurs him on. He saves every shilling, till he attains 
to the darling object. By the time he has paid for 
his little farm, his habits of industry and economy arc 
confirmed. He then enlarges his viows — strives af- 
ter, and is (generally speaking) successful in acquir- 
ing, a handsome property. The principle here ad- 
vocated, becomes in this way, a l^ou^ce of noble ambi- 
tion, virtuous habits, and real felicity to thousands. 

If multitudes, swarming about great cities, and more 
thinly scattered through every part of the country, 
form a numerous class, to whom the right of sulfragc 
cannot possibly be any privilege, their holding and 
exercising that right will be attended with deplorable 
and incalculable evils to that class to whom the right 
is most dear and sacred. Enterprit-ingand ambitious 
men, who know their own utter dereliction of all 
principle, and their exclusion from the walks of honor 
and virtue, well know that these people have no minds 
of their own. They will be perpetually intriguing 
among them. They will not fail to condense and 
concentrate their otherwise scattered opinions, and 
throw all their weight into one scab'. It is nredless 
to 5ay what scale that will be. The intriguing and 
ambitious, knowing how impossible it is, and will 
ever be, for themselves to rise by merit, have their 



^208^ CONCLUSION. 

eye constantly upon this class of people as the true 
source of their elevation to power. 

It is time the peuple of this country were made 
sensible of their danger. Their progress in the path 
of corruption is rapid ; and by holding the door to 
citizenship so wide, and nnaking the elective franchise 
so cheap, they invite all strangers, and allure all the 
outcasts of fortune's children to hover upon oirr 
coasts, like a cloud of harpies; yea, to plunge into 
our public affairs, to put shoulder to the wheel and 
push us on to destruction. 

The rage for office and the spirit of electioneering 
have made no small progress ; hut more or less of 
these evils must always be expected to accompany 
the privileges of a free and popular government. It 
is doubtless the highest wisdom of every American 
to endeavor to give stability to our present frame of 
government, and perpetuity to our national union ; 
to strive to moderate the passions and harmonize the 
jarring interests of parties. And much is to be hoped 
for from the wisdom and virtue of the American [)eo- 
ple. A storm seems to be gathering at a distance ; 
we know not where it will fall. It therefore becomes 
every friend of his country to be circumspect, wise, 
firm, and united. 

CONCLUSIOX. 

Thus have we attempted to delineate the great 
line of history. Beginning with the infancy of our 
race, we have seen the world overspread with people, 
divided into numerous nations and languages. \Vc 
have seen the mighty fabric of social, political, and 
religious order rising by degrees, assuming various 
forms, ditfusing its benign influence over mankind, 
and descending down through all ages, with addi- 
tional improvements, to our own times. Having trac- 
ed but a single line through the immensity of human „ 
concerns, we have left, on either hand of our course, Si 



USES OF HISTORY. 209 

extensive fields unexplored. To them, we now re- 
connmend the young reader to turn his attention ; with 
an assurance, that he will receive the richest remu- 
neration for his labors. 

Having arrived at our own times, we have adven- 
tured a transient glance at the present state of our 
species in the world. We are compelled to say, that 
the prospect over Asia and Africa is gloomy — over 
Europe it is doubtful, and, on the whole, we both see 
and feel numerous reasons of gratitude to Divine 
Providence, who has cast our lot in this highly 
favored land. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORICAL 
K.NOWLEDGE. 

WHETHER wc regard profit or pleasure, historical 
knowledge is of use. As l)istory abounds with beau- 
ty, novelty, and grandeur, it opens various sources of 
pleasure to the imagination ; and as il brings up be- 
fore Ub transactions numerous, past, and dislLint, it as- 
sists experience, by presenting, in one view, ihe causes 
and coiiSLCjurnces of great events. 

The life of one nran is far toe short, and the sphere 
of his observation too small, to arquire an adequate 
knowledge eilbor of what is, what has been done, or 
what is now doing in <he world; but as there is a 
certain uniforruity in human character and action, 
we may, with a degree of safet), judge of the future 
by the past and [)rcsent.* The Itiidency of cert lin 
things to the ha[)pmess of nations, and the reverse — 
the origin aiiu progress, the wane and dis.-«olution of 
empires, can only be discovered by the light ol his- 
tory ; n^r is tlterc any natural litiht, h} which we 
can more clearly see the influence of character, 
morals, art and science, on the happiness of man. 

* It is very iri.porfant, that in thus juHfjing we should makf 
ilue allo^vmice for change of oircumbtuuccs, — Ed. 



210 USES OF HISTORY. 

At what period of life, the study of history should 
commence, is a point which remains unsettled. Per- 
haps no subject of equal Uterary importance has been 
less regarded, less systematized, or less pursued, tlian 
the study of history. It has hardly been considered 
as a part of education, cither liberal or professional, 
and, for the most part becomes a bve- business, defer- 
red till late, sacrificed to inferior objects, or neglected 
altoL^ethcr. A variety of facts lead us to conclude, 
it should be entered upon much earlier, than the com- 
mon practice points out. The body of history is 
simple narration ; a species of instruction adapted 
to the first openings of a young mind ; on which deep 
and strong impressions are easily made. It is a 
common thing to put children, at an early age, to 
le;irn the rult*s of arithmetic, the grammatical con- 
struction of language, or even the D\athcmatical 
sciences ; which tliinirs are fnrlber bevond the roach 
of their capacity than history, at the lime — more 
dilhcult to be remembered, and of less importance. 

Battlfs and sieges, the strong lustre of great charac- 
ters, memorable events, indeed all the most prom- 
inent feiilures of history, impress our minds with ex- 
traordinary pleasure or disgust, and commoidy leave 
indelible marks, especially, if made while young. 
The histories of nations are, generally speaking, but 
the histories of men's passions delineated. For that 
r(";l^()n, they strike deeper into the mind, move the 
passions more, and arc longer felt, than cool, unim- 
passioned reasonings, and curious speculations. 

A small acquaintance with the outlines of geogra- 
phy, seems the only pre-requisite to the study of his- 
tory.* The student sbouKl have some idea of the 
figure and motion of the earth, of the general divi- 
sions of land and water — the positions and extent 

• Some acquaintance with numbers secnis neces>:ary, in order 
to undtphtand j^cogriiphy. And there is no doubt, that Arithme- 
tic, it' properly tant^ht, may be tlelijEchtfully instilled into the ten- 
der mind. Tlie student should also be acqnuinted with uaap^- 
And consult thum, as he prooceds iu hietory. — Kn. 



USES OF HISTORY. 211 

of -the continents, islands and oceans: ond this is 
easily gained by a few short lessons on the globe. 

A habit of application is necessar}', in order to 
make progress in any study, or to arrive at eminence 
in any sphere of life. Our most ardent endeavors 
should not be wanting: and when once this point is 
gained, the hill of science may be easily ascended. 
Having sufficiently glanced over the main tract, the 
studer^t may then return, and be directed in reading 
a regular course of ancient history. 

Knowledge of history sliongl} inculcates the pre- 
ference of virtue to vice, and the follj of human 
ambition. \\c there learn, that mm elevated on the 
summit of (art lily glory, are less sale, aiid far less 
happy, than those in the humbler walks of life. 'J he 
historian can compare tlie modes of life, the customs 
of diflerent ages and countries, and tbe eflVxts of dif- 
ferent religions and gn\ernmenls on his species : a 
study which tends to free- the mind from bigotry and 
superstition ; and in such a mighty course of events, 
m;«kes a man t\el his w(nkne>? and insignificance. 
IBy the liglit of hish ly, human aflairs rcstnjble a 
stormy sea, 1 hey foam and ra<^'e under the dire 
aeency of tremendous passions, though subject to the 
liiglier control of Almighty power. Ail iiuman in- 
stitutions are seen mouldering away ; and the works 
of art, however solid, beautiful or grand, cither by 
the ravages of lime or the blind fury of mortals, all 
perish. These views diminish self-importance, and 
leave the mind to seek hij^her giounds of conlidcncc 
and hope. 

'i'ho light oT history unveils many characters; it 
discloses the feature s of the ambitious tyrant anil as- 
piring demagogue, the masked hypocrite, the stern 
bigot, and subtle polilieian. True history is a gem 
of inestimable value. It seems almost to remedy the 
detects of human foresight. We there learn, how 

ort-sightcd many legislators have been in promul- 
Liating laws, utterly inconsistent with the good of so- 



212 USES OF HISTORY. 

ciety : for while the statesman, in the busy scenes of 
life, is bewildered in the ambiguity of probable efTcots, 
and, like a pilot, who cannot feel his helm, cannot 
discern the drift of empire, the historian, calmly 
seated in the shade of contemplation, lifts his perspec- 
tive, begins at the spring, and carefully traces the 
tortuous course of govcrnnu-nts and em[jircs, sees 
them, like a river, dashing over precipices, majesti- 
cally rolling through plains, or disappearing in the 
ocean. 

Having travelled in thought over these extensive 
and diversified fields, he returns to the occurrences of 
Ins own time, matured uilh the experience of ages, 
furnish(d with piincijiles and remarks drawn from 
the ^»ub!ime^t e\hibili(»ns of virtue, contra^ted with 
every thing hateful in the human character. In walk- 
ing amnn:< the srpulclires of empires, he sees hung 
up, as beacons, the catastrophics oi all ancient gov- 
ernments : he beholds, with emotions of wonder, 
pity, and dread 5 and sometimes weeps over the in- 
evitable de>tiny of human iu'^titulions. These views 
at on«'e expand and enrich the toul, which bids a 
mournful, but sublime pleasure, in tracing the vestige- 
of exalted virtue among the monuments of anticpiily. 

The statesman, politirian, and legislator will de- 
rive essential bemlit from tlie knowledge of history : 
since it is there alone, he can trace the origin and 
operation, and, of course, tlio excidlencics and defei! 
of the various forms of government. From the 
grand monarchies i)( Cyrus, Alexander, and Cesar. 
he may pass down to those of China, Turkey, and 
Uussia, as they now arc; orfrom the republics of an- 
cient, to those of modern times. He may compare tbr 
vices of great, with those of smull. states ; and espe- 
cially, he may contrast the virtues of rising, with the 
vices of declifiing, slates. 'J'he important coneiusions, 
he will be able to draw iVom thcbe cun)p;iris(>ns, will 
form a coui*terpart to the pleasures he will deriv* 
from a review of those sublime fields of knowledge. 



tJSF.S OF HISTORY. 213 

The statesman, who is acquainted with the history 
of nations and governments, will penetrate the false 
glosses which sophistry can give to visionary theo- 
ries. Far other motives, than the charm of novelty, 
will be necessary to induce him to put the welfare of 
his country at a hazard, on the doubtful issue of ex- 
periments. His experience is matured by the wis- 
dom of ages; and with him, all the various expedients 
of artful, ambitious, and aspiring men, are so perfectly 
comprehended and seen through, that they are even 
become trite or thread-bare : he has often seen them 
acted over — often detected, often despised. 

The philosopher, whose ruling propensity is the 
love of truth and knowledge, finds perpetual gratifi- 
cation in the pages of history. With pleasure he 
traces the streams of science from their first fountains. 
If his benevolent sensibilities are often |)ained, he is 
more than compensated by viewing the stupendous 
wheel of human atlairs rolling through all ages ; and 
if 

"The proper study of mnnkind is man,^^ 

the history of nations is the book comprehending that 
important science ; and without the rcadinsj of which, 
a man must alwa)s remain a child. History and 
philosophy are auxiliaries to each other in expanding 
and enriching the mind. For, while the former pre- 
sents before ns innumerable shades of character, in- 
numerable minds acting under the inlluence of various 
propensities, while all human concerns, from those of 
the humble shc[)herd, to those of the universal mon- 
arch, there solicit our attention, invite our estrrra 
and challenge our admiration, pliilosophy conduct* 
us to some commanding eminence, and bids us take a 
view of the universe. 'i'here an expanse opens 
which no imagination can compass, 'rhrou^h the 
illimitable tracts of space we contemplate worlds of 
li^ht profusely, yet permanently planted ; their num- 
bers incalculable, and their distances inconceivable. 
38 



214 USES OF IIISTORT. 

There globes roll around us, in comparison with 
which, our earth dinrjinishcs as it were to nothing. 
IVlan is but "an atom of an atom world;'' and the 
generations of six thousand }ears, to beings of 
superior natures, appear like the successive tribes 
of insects, which, in the morning, sport on the sur- 
face, and, ere sunset, are lost in the bosom of the trou- 
bled lake. 

The philosopher so far from envying the proud 
monarchs of the earth, looks on them as objects of 
pity : and is so far from coveting a share of their 
glory, that he can only desire thenj to " stand from 
between him and the sun.""^ 

Ili;>torv adords manv consideration? calculated to 
confirm the faith and strcncthcn the hopes of the 
Christian. 'I'o say nothintj of the fulfilment of scrip- 
ture prophecies, conceminir the ancient monarchies 
and Jewish and Christian churches, history in gene- 
ral shews, that man's character, in all ages has been 
uniform; that he is a depraved creature; and may 
convince us, that if he ever rises from this deprav<«d 
and selfish state, it must be by other means than his 
own exertion>. It uniformly corioborates the idea, 
that as sin and misery, so virtue and happiness are 
connected ; and hence we infer the excellency of 
virtue, and the turpitude of vice. 

A c ireful attention to the general course of events, 
as related in historj^ will strengthen the mind to the 
belief in a wise, powerful, ovcrrulinc:, and universal 
Providence. W hoover looks upon the workmanship 
of a clock, will acknowledge it to be the work of de- 
sign ; and so will he who observes the revolutions of 
the heavenly bodies, the change of the seasons, the 
mechanism of an animal body, or even the structure 
of any of its particular parts, as an eye or an ear. 
But in no pan of nature is an overruling power more 

■ When Alexander inquired what he could do to oblige Dio- 
gnus, '^ >iliuKl (Vaiu b«'t\\oea me and the sun," said the j hiloso- 
nhtr. — Kn. 



i 
( 



USES OF HISTORY. 215 

clearly seen than in the origin, the rise, the pros- 
perity, the decline and fall of a nation : and, by a 
due attention to these thini^s, we may discover the 
wisdom, justice, and goodness of Divine Providence- 

Kvery member of a free, enlightened republic, 
should, by all means, read history. In a nation 
where popular opinion must be the supreme arbiter, 
of what immense importance is it, that that opinion 
should be corrected by wisdom and experience ; 
otherwise the political vessel will wander wide upon 
tempestuous seas, and be lost among rocks and whirl- 
pools. 

The study of history is peculiarly adapted to the 
minds of youth. In that period of life, the intellectual 
po.vtM's arc c\';);"inding, the passions taking direction, 
and the character is rapidly forming. In that season 
of improvement, emulation, and hope, a habit of 
reading should be formed ; and care should be taken, 
tliat the ta^te be not vitiated and rendered wavering 
by the prevalence of any species of reading, which 
leaves it fliglity and capricious. Alas ! how many 
of the davs and ye irs of youth are wasted without 
improvement — are utterly lost to every valua!)i"^nd 
every noble purpose! We too seldom begin to thiidf, 
till we are incapable of action. The whole season 
of youth, in the greater number of instances, is so 
passed away, as to draw afl^^r it an age barretj of 
knowledge and virtue, a bleak and comfortless season 
of care, decrepitude and sorrow ! Such is the per- 
ver:^encss in manv. that they will not be instructed by 
the experience of others. — Youth will not derive im- 
provement from age, in those [)oints most interesting 
and impoitant. 

Although the present design is to urge the impor- 
tance of historical information, yet many of the same 
arguments apply with equal force to general reading. 
Such as have opportmiity, (and that number is larger 
than is generally thought,) should read many things 
besides historv. 



216 L'SES OF HISTORY. 

Theological reading, which certainly should be- 
gin* with the Bible, is very important. A thorough 
acquaintance with religious doctrines deeply con- 
cerns the welfare of all mankind. It is astonishing 
to see the ignorance of many persons on these sub- 
jects. They have, perhaps for many years, enjoyed 
advantages of religious instruction, but have never 
used them to any etlrct. The beint and [)rrfectiona 
of God; the inunortahty of the soul ; an endless state 
of rewards and punishments ; a change so amazing 
as that of death ; tlie unknown realities of the coming \ 
world ; in short, tlic immensity of rion's kingdom 
and government ; the infinitely varied works of crea- 
tion ; and what man is to himself as a conscious 
being ; are objects, which seem to call for the utmost 
exertion of all our inlelloctual powers. To survey, 
to imjuire, to Irarn, and to know, in the midst of a 
world of such wonders, demands man^s noblest facul- 
ties, and certainlv furnishes for them the noblest em- 
ploymf'nt. 

JJut the disease of our race seems to be stupidit}*". 
Many, too many, plod on through life, thinking only 
of the present. They scarcely send forward a 
thought into futurity, till th(^y come upon the brink 
of the precipice, and it is then too late, even to ac- 
quire any settled opinions, or make any preparations. 
A life of the most extreme thouglitlessness, is closed 
with a few hours of gloomy, intense, inelFable anxiety 
and horror. 

True religion, as appertaining to the mind, consists 
in just views and virtuous dispositions. Its genuine 
tendency is to lead men to the most careful discharge 
of th^ duties of life. But it does not slop here. It 
awakens in a man a due sense of his various relations 
to things temporal and things eternal. It holds up to 
his understanding, a superior light, whereby he per- 

* It i? not kfs ccrtaii), that theological reading should proceed 
and end with tlicbiblf: though not lo the exclasion of other 
book?. — Ei» 



USES OF HISTORY. 2l7 

ceives clearly, that his best inheritance is in his im- 
mortal state. In firm expectation and confidence of 
future happiness, he is resigned to the course of 
Providence, and waits patiently the consummation of 
his hopes. 

The propensity prevalent in the human mind to 
neglect religious studies, extends to the neglect of all 
mental cultivation ; and it is no uncommon thing for 
people to neglect their minds altogether. Among 
the eastern nations, there are some who regard reli- 
gion in the light we do the study of law or physic ; 
that is, an occupation to be followed by a certain 
clai>s of men. Jf, instead of the word relinion^ we 
substitute the phrase, cultivation of the inind^ such a 
class may be fouorl almost any where, even in our 
own country, 'i hey complain that they have no 
time; that they are pressed by business. How many 
hours in the day do they attend to business ? How 
do they employ their evenings ? How do they spend 
the Sabbath 2 jihe fact is, they have too much time. 
It hangs, a dead weight, upon their hands. 'J'heir 
businri'S, except in a few extreme cases, is shorter, by 
several hours, than the day. Their dull, insipid even- 
ings are dozed away in a vacuity of thought. Per- 
haps they saunter to a neighbor's house, wher^ their 
conversation is of too trivial, and absurd a nature to 
admit of being specified in a serious discourse ; or 
perhaps the^ fall upon some amusement for the ex- 
press purpose of killing tinie, as some are pleased to 
style it : or, in other words^o pass away the evening, 
and escape that distressing sense of solitude, which 
often seizes the vacant mind. 

Killinfr time ! '*• Time," says the poet, " is the stuff 
that lile is made of." To waste time, is to squander 
the main ingredient of life, one of the richest of 
heaven's blessings. O, righteous Heaven, remember 
it not against them in the great day of trial ! lest it 
swell the catalogue ofthcir crimes beyond forgiveness. 
As for their Sabhaibs, instituted for the benevolent 
38* 



218 USES OF HISTORY. 

purpose of suspending servile labor, and acquiring 
the knowledge of their Creator, they are slept or 
idled awav : yet these people say that they have no 
time to devote to the improvements of the mind. 
One of the most important questions a man can ask 
himself, is, How his time has been spent? To judge 
of its full import, let us consider what sensations it 
will excite, when, with imperative tone, it shall 
obtrude itself upon him in the hour of death. 

The most excellent and important of all books, is 
doubtless the Bible. It contains a glorious manifes- \ 
tation of God's character, perfections, and govern- 
ment, together with the character, duty, and obliga- 
tions of men, and the only way of life and salva- 
tion, k is the felicity of the present day, to possess 
not only this invaluable book, but lo abound in reli- 
gious writings, of various descriptions, calculated to 
strengthen the faith, and clierish the virtues of the 
Christian. Books of this nature are indispensably 
necessary to a well chosen library. They abound in 
discour^es, which sv ill give light, comfort, and eneour- 
a<zement to a man, when all human sciences, even 
when all earthly things, however splendid and beau- 
tiful, are fading in his eye. 

Tliat species of reading, next in importance to 
divinity, is history. There is seen the rise and fall 
of states and empires. On one j)age is delineated 
the causes of their prosperity, and on another, of 
their decline. History represents the great concerns 
of nations in miniature. The picture is grand, but 
lornewhat gloom v ; and the correspondent sensations 
in him who examines it, if at times elevated and 
delightful, will not fail lo be shaded over with melan- 
choly, softened, however, by tlie distance, and ren- 
dered sublime bv the magnificence and glory of the 
object. The historian, however long he walks under 
the embowering laurel and olive, must at length 
repose under the cypress shade. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



CHROXOLOGY OF THE PATRMRCIIS. 



B. C. 
CREATION of Adam and 

Kve, ...... 4004 

Birth of Seth, .... 3{j74 

ofEnos, .... 3769 

of Cainan, . . , 3670 
of Mahalaleel, . . 3G09 
of Jarcd, .... 3541 

of Enoch, . . . 33i;2 
of Methuselah, . .3317 
of Lamech, . . . 3K)i> 
of Noah, .... 29 l;j 

of Japlittlj, . . . 244!i 
of Shein, .... 2445 

•I" HE FLOOD, .... 2348 

Birtii of Arphaxad, . . 2345 
of S;alah, . . . . 2311 

ofEber, . . . . 2201 

ofPelejj, .... 2247 

ofReu, . . . . 2217 

ofSerup, . . . . 2185 

2155 
212G 
1996 
1986 
1921 

1 920 
1910 
1U97 
1897 



of iNahor, 

of IVrah, 

of Ahruui, 

of Sarah, 
Callin? of Ahrara, • . 
Famine in Canaan — Abram 

and Lot s;o into Egypt, 
Birth of Isljniael, . . . 
Sodom conpumed, 
Circumcision established, 



B. C. 

Birth of Isaac, . . . 1896 

Kaac marries Rebecca, . 1856 

Birth of Jacob, . . . 1836 

of Reuben, . . . 1771 

of Simeon, . . . 1770 

of Levi, .... 1769 

ofJudah, . . . 1763- 

of Dan, .... 1767 

of xXaphtali, . . 1765 

of Gad, .... 17t>4 

of Asher, . . . 1762 

of Issachar, . . . 1757 

of Zebulon, . 175S 

of Joseph, . . . 1745 

Jacob returns to Canaan, 1739 

Birth of Benjamin, . . 1738 

Joseph sold into K<rypt"» • 1728 

becomes minister of 

Ei;ypt, . . . 1715 

Birth of Manasseh, son of 

Joseph, 17U 

Birth of Ephraim, son of 

Joseph, . . . . , 1710 
Seven years^ famine begins, 1703 
Jacob and family go into 

Eicypt, 1706 

Birtliof Aaron,sonof Amrarn,1574 
of Moses, son of Arnram,157l 
Moses returns into Ej^ypt, 
to deliver the Hebrews, 1491 



GOVERNORS AND JUDGES* OF THE ISRAELITES. 



B. C. 

Mosrs, 1491 

Joshua, 145) 

OtLniel, 1405 



B. C. 

Ehud, 1325 

Deborah and Barak, . . 1285 
Gideon, 1245 



* Ft is cxtivnielr diili'MiU to t»ace the chronology of this period. \nAc>r<\ most of 

lati.'i arp stilluncoruin. and proliably incorrect; but it is hoped tiiat none of 

them arc very f«r iVoin the tvuih.— fTi. 



fi20 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



B. C.| 

Abimelech, l-2.it»|Klon, . . . 

Tola, 123,:|Abdon, . . . 

Jair, 1 179|^?amsou born, , 

Jeplithuh, 1139 FJi, Judge, 

Ibzun, UJJjSaiunL-l, Judge, 



B.C. 

11 '2G 
1116 
1137 
1181 
1141 



CllUONOLOGIC AL REGAL TABLES. 







B. CI 










B.C. 


KINGS OF THE JEWS. 


3. 

4. 


Baasha, . . 
Elah, . . . 






U.U) 


1. 


Saul, 


1095 


5. 


Zimri, 






. I'29 


2. 


r)avi(l and Ishbosheth, 


1055 


C. 


Omri, . . 






925 


j! 


David alone, . . . 


1047 


7. 


A ha I), 






. 918 


4. 


Solomon, .... 


1015 


8. 


Ahiuiah, 






. h'97 


D] 


vision of tlic kingdom, 


♦J75 


9. 
10. 


Jthorani, 
Jehu, . 






. 896 
084 




KINGS OF JUUAII 


, 


11. 


Jeoahaz, 






856 




Tico Tribes. 




1-2. 
13. 


Joasli, 
Jeroboam 11. 






. 841 
. 825 


1. 


Rclioboam, . . 


975 




Interregniun, 1 1 


]y 


car 


<=, 784 


n^ 


Abijani, .... 


95f> 


14 


Zachariah, . 






. 773 


3. 


Asa; 


955 


15 


Shalluro, 






772 


4. 


Jehoshaphat, . . . 


914 


16 


Menaliem, . 






772 


5. 


Jehoram, 


l;89 


17 


Pckehiah, . 






7t)l 


6. 


Alidziali, . . . 


HJ5 


18 


. Pekah, . . 






. 759 


7. 


Athaliah, 


«i;4 


19 


Iloiihca, . . 






730 


8. 


Joash, 


UIH 


Sh 


Jmanczer, king of As? 


y- 


9. 


Ama/iah, 


;;a9 


ria, destroyed the kin 


g- 


10. 


A /aria!), or Uzziah, 


tJlO 


dom of Israel, . . 


. 721 


11. 


Jotliam, 


758 








12. 


Alia/, .... 


74'2 




KINGS OF MEDIA 


, 


13. 
14. 
15. 

IG. 
17. 
18. 
19. 


llczekiah, . . . . 
Manasseli, . . . . 

Anion, 

Josiah, 

Jtboaluiz, . . . . 
Jofu)iakiin, . . . . 
Jclioiaohin, 
Zedekiah, . . . 
Nebuchadnezzar uestr 


7:27 
698 
6J3 
CIO 
CIO 
CIO 
. 599 
. 599 


1. 
2. 
3. 

4. 
5. 


Dcjoces, . . 
Piiraorles, 
Cy ax arts, 
Scythians driven 
Astyage=, 
Darius, . . 


out, 
>SYRI 


709 
. 656 
. 634 

607 

59.-, 
559 


520. 
21. 


KINGS OF A£ 


.\. 


e«l Jerusalem, . . 


. 580 


1. 


Tiglalh Pileser, called t 


1- 










so Arbaces and Nini 
the yojinger, 


JS 




KINGS OF ISRAEL 


• 




. 747 




Ten Tribes. 




2. 
3. 


ShaJiiianeser, . . 
Sennacherib, . . . 


. 728 
714 


1. 


Jeroboam I. . . 


, 975 


4. 


Esarhaddon, . . . 


. 706 


• > 


Nauab, .... 


. 954 


EgarhaddoD takes J 


Bab 


ylo 


D, G80 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



221 



B. C. 



1 
2 
3, 

4, 
5, 
6 

7, 

3, 

9 

10 

11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 



KINGS OF BABYLON. 

Nabonassar or Belesis, 

Nadius, .... 

Cincertus, . . . 

Jui^eus, .... 

Merodac Baladan, 

Arcianu«, 
Intcrreguuni, . . 

Helibus, .... 

Aprotiadius, 

Ilegilibn?, 

Mtisessinjordacu?, 

Interrepntim, 

K'jarhaddon, 

Sao«duchirju5, . 

Chjnilaclanus, 

Nabopullasar, . 

Nebuchadnez/ar, . 

Evilmerodach, . 

Neriglissar, . 

Belshazzar, . 
Bab} Ion taken by Cyrus, 



747 

733 

731 1 

726 

721 

709 

704 

702 

690 

693 

692 

688 

680 

667 

64"? 

62.0 

606 

561 

559 

55: 

539 



KINGS OF THI-: PERSIANS. 



1. 
2. 
3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 

10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 



Cyru?, 

Canibyses, or AhaJiurn?, 
Sinerdis, or Artaxcrxos, 
Darius I. sou of Hystas- 

^pe^ 

Xerxes the Great, 
Artaxerxes Longimanus, 

Xerxes II 

Sogdianus, .... 
Ochus, or Darius No- 

tbus, 

Artaxerxes Mnemon, 
Artaxerxes Ochuf, 

Arses, 

Darius Codoinanus, . 
Alexander the Crreat, 
Arideus, or Philip, 



537 

523 

522 
486 
465 
42-4 
424 

424 
405 
359 
338 
336 
331 
324 



KINGS OF EGYPT. 



Sabacon, or So, .... 728 

Sevechu", 719 

Tirhakah, 705 

Anarchy, 687 

Twelve confederate Princes, 685 



B.C. 

Psammitichus, .... 670 

Necho, 615 

Psammis, 600 

Aprie.s, or Hophra, , . . 594 

Ama^is, 569 

Psainruinitus, .... 525 

Cauibjses conquers Egypt, 525 

Sinenfis, 523 

Darius llystaspes, . , . 622 

Xerxes the Great, . . . 486 

Artaxerxes Longimanus, . 465 

Xerxes II 424 

So^dianus, 424 

Ochus, 424 

Aiiiyrteus, 413 

Paueiris, 407 

Psaiumitichus II. ... 401 

Ncphereus, 39i 

Achori-s 389 

Psaramuthis, 376 

Nectanebus, 37» 

Tachos, 363 

Nectanebus, ..... 361 

Ochus conquffS Fg', pt, . 350 

Arses, ....... 338 

Darius Codoraauus, . . 336 

.\lcxauder the Great, . . 331 

Death of Alexander, . . 323 

Ptolemy Soter, .... 304 

Ptolemy Philadelphus, . 285 

Ptolemy Euergetes, . . 246 

Ptolemy Philopater, . . 221 

Ptolemy F.piphanes, . . 204 

Ptolemy Philometer, . . 180 
Ptolemy Physcon, or Euer- 

ijetes II 145 

Ptolemy Soter II. or Lathy- 

rus and Cleopatra, . . 117 

Alexander aud Cleopatra, 107 

Lathyrus alone, ... 89 

Herenicc, 80 

Alexander 80 

Ptolemy Auletes, ... 65 
Ptolemy Dionysius, and Cle- 
opatra, 51 

Ptolemy the Younger, and 

Cleopatra, .... 47 
Egypt becomes a Roman 

province, . . 4 . • 3Q 



22^ 



GHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



B. C. 



KINGS OF SYRIA. 

Seleucns I. Nicator, 
Aiitiochu.s I. Soter, . 
Antiochus II. Theus, 
Seleucus II. Callinicus, 
Seleucus IIF. Cerauuus, 
Antiochus HI. the Great, 
Seleucus IV. Philopater, 
Antiochus IV. Epiphanes, 
Antiochus V. E\ipator, 
Demetrius I. Soter, 
Alexander I. Balas, 
Demetrius II. Nicator, 
Antiochus VI. Theus, 
Diodotuf, or Trjphon, 
Antiochus Sidetes, . 
Demetrius II. Nicator, r 

established, 
Alexander II. Zebina, 

Seleucus V 

Antiochus VIII. Gripus, 
Seleucus VI, Nicator, . 
Philin 



312 
279 
261 
246 
225 
222 
186 
175 
164 
162 
150 
145 
144 
143 
139 

130 

126 

124 

123 

97 

93 



Tigranes, 

Syria, becomes a Roman pro- 

TlDoC, 9 « , « . . 

PRINCES OF JUDEA. 

1. Judas Maccabeus great, 

great grandson of As- 
nioneus, , , . . 

2. Jonathan, .... 

3. Simon, 

4. John Hyrcanus, . . 



63 



166 
160 
143 
135 



KINGS OF JUDEA. 

1. Aristobolus, .... 

2. Alexander Janneus, 

3. Alexandl-a, . . 

4. Hyrcanus, . . 

5. Arisiubolus, . 
Hyrcanus again, 

6. Antigonus, 

7. Herod the Great, 

8. Archelaus, . . 

Judea becomes a Roman 
province, , , 



107 
106 
79 
70 
70 
63 
40 
37 
3 



B. e. 

KINGS OF ROJME. 

1. Romulus, 753 

Romulus assassinated in 

the senate, .... 716 
Interregnum of one year, 716 

715 
672 
640 
616 
578 
534 



2. Numa Pompilius, 

3. Tullus Hostilius, . 

4. Ancus Martiup, . . . 

5. Tarquin, the Elder, 

6. Servius Tullins, . 

7. Tarquin, the Proud, 
Last king of the Romans, 

expelled. 



48 

44 



ROMAN EMPERORS. 

Julius Cesar* becomes mas- 
ter of Rome, .... 
Slain in the Senate house, 

Anarchy, 44 

Augustus, 30 

A.C. 

Tiberius, , 14 

Caligula, 37 

Claudius, 41 

Nero, 54 

Galba, 68 

Otho, 69 

Vitellius, 69 

Vespasian, 70 

Titus, 79 

Domitian, ..... 8l 

iVerva, 9& 

Trajan, 98 

Adrian, Il7 

Antoninus Pius, . . . 133 
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 

and Lucius Vertis, . . 161 
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 

alone, 170 

Commodus, loO 



DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE. 

Pertinax, 193 

Julian, 66 days, . . . . 193, 
Septimius Severus, . . . 193 

* Juliur .Cesar is sometimes, though not 
i^eiifrally, reckoned among the Roman 
eniperors. JEci^ 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



!2S 



A. C. 

Caricalla and Geta, . . 211 

Macrinus, 217 

Heliogabalus, .... 218 
Alexander Severus, . . 222 

Maximin, 235 

Gordian the Elder and his 

son, 337 

Maximus and Balbinus, . 237 
Gordian the Younger, . 238 
Philip and son, .... 244 

Decius, 249 

Hostilian, G alius and Volu- 

sian, his son, .... 251 
Enielian, 3 months, . . 253 
Valerian and Gallienus his 

son 253 



A, C. 
ROMAN EMPERORS OF THE 

WEST. 
Valentinean, .... 364 
Gratian and Valentinean II. 375 
Valentinean II. and Maxi- 
mus, 383 



282 
283 
284 
285 
286 
305 



Gallienus* alone, . . . 260 

Claudius II 268 

Quintiliup, 17 days, . . 270 

Aurelian, 270 

Interregnum of 8 months, 275 
Tacitus, G months, . . . 275 
Florian, 3 months, . . . 275 

Probrjs, 276 

Carus, 

Carinus and Numerian, . 
Carinus and Diocletian, . 
Diocletian alone, 
Diocletian and Maximian, 
Constantius and Galerius, 
Constantine, Galerius and 

Maxentius, .... 306 
Six emperors, Maximian, 
Constantine, Maxentius, 
Galerius, Licinius and 

Maximin, 308 

Constantine and Licinius, 313 
Constantine alonp, . . . 324 
Constantine II. Constantius ' 

II. and Constans, . . 337 
Constantius and Constans, 340 
Constantius alone, . . . 350 
Julian, the Apestate, . . 361 

Jovian, 363 

Valentinean and Valens, . 364 
Division of the Empire, . 364 

* Duriner the reign of Gallienus, there 
■were in difTerent parts of the empire no 
less than 19 pretenders to the throne who 
assumed the litle of Kmperor. Ed. 



V^alentinean II. alone, 
Eugenius, , . 
Honoriiis,t . . 
Valentinean III. 
Petronius Maximus, 
Avitus, 

Interregnum, . 
Majorian, 
>everus, . . 
Anthemius, . 
Olybrius, 7 months, 
Julius Nepos and Glycc 
Nepos alone, 
laterregnum, 
Augustulus, . . . 



388 

392 
395 
425 
455 
455 
456 
457 
461 
467 
472 
472 
473 
474 
476 



KINGS OF ITALY. 

Odoacer, . ■ 476 

Theodoric, 493 

Amalasontha and Athalaric, 526 

Theodatus, 534 

Vitiges, ...... 536 

Interregnum, .... 

Totila, 

Interregnum, . . , . 

'i'ejas, 

End of the Gothic kingdom 
in Italy, 



540 
541 
552 
553 

553 



ROMAN EMPERORS OF THE 
EAST. 

Valens, 364 

Interregnum, 5 months, . 378 

Theodosius, the Great, . 379 

Arcadius, 395 

Theodosius II 408 

Marcian, 450 

Leo, the Great, . . . 457 

Leo II 474 

Zeno, 474 

f During the reip^n of Honorius, Rome 
was ravaged by tlie Goth Alaric; and 
several usurpers in difl'erent parts of the 
ompire were partially ackuowledged. Ed. 



^24 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



A. C 

Anastasius, 491 

Justin 1 518 

Juttincan, 527 

Justin II 565 

Justin II. and Tiberius II. 574 
Tiberius II. alone, . . . 578 

Maurice, 582 

riiocas, 602 

Ileraclius, 610 

Ileraclius, Consfantine III. 

and Heracleonap, . . 638 
Conptantine III. and Herac- 

leonas, 641 

Constans 11 641 

Conttantine IV. Progonatus, 668 

Justinean II 685 

Leontius, 695 

Apsimar or Tiberius, . . 698 
Justinean 11. again, . . 705 
Phili|) liardanes, . . . 711 

Anastasius II 713 

Theodosius III 716 

Leo HI. the Isaurian, . 718 
Con<?tantine V. Copronj- 
nius, ...... 741 

Leo IV 775 

Con?tantine VI. and Irene, 780 

Irene alone, 792 

^'icephorus 1 802 

Stauraciup, 2 months, . .811 

Michael 1 811 

Leo V. the Armenian, . 813 
Michael 11. the Stammerer, 820 

Theophilus, 829 

>Tichael III 842 

Basil I. the Macedonian, . 867 
Leo VI. the Philosopher, 886 
Alexander and Conslantine 

VII 912 

Roraanus I. Lecapenus, . 919 
Christopher, Stephen and 
Constantine VIII. were 
successively made empe- 
rors with their father Ro- 
manus, 
Constantine VII. again, . 945 

Romanus II 959 

Nicephorus II. Phocas, . 963 
John Zimisces, .... 9G9 
Basil II. and Constantine IX. 976 



A. C. 

Constantine alone, . . 1025 
Ronjanus III. Areyrus, . 1023 
Michael IV. the Paphlago- 

ninn, 1034 

Michael V. Calaphates, . 1041 
Zoe and Theodora, two 

months, 1042 

Constantine X. Mononia- 

chus, 1042 

Theodora again, . . . 1054 
Michael Vl.'Stratioticus, 1056 
Isaac I. Comnoiujs, . . 1057 
Constantine XI. Ducas, 1059 

Eudocia, 10()7 

Romanus III. Diogenes, 10G7 
Michael VII. Audronicus I. 

and Constantine XII. . 1071 
Nicephonis 111. Botan, . 1078 
Alexius I. Comnenus, . 1081 
John Comnenus, . . . 1118 
Manuel Comnenus, . . 1143 
Alexius II. Comnenus, . 1180 
Andronicus Conmenus, . 1183 
lsa;ic II. Ang«.lus, . . . 11B5 
Alexius Angelus, brother of 

Isiiac, 1195 

Isaac Angelus again, and 

his son Alexius, . . 1203 
Mourzoude, .... 1204 
Constantinople taken and 

pillaged by the Latins, 1201 



EMPEROPvS OF GERMANY. 

Charlemagne, or Charles, 

the Great, .... 800 
Lewis, the Gentle (Debon- 

naire,) 814 

Lothaire 1 840 

Lewis II 855 

Charles, the Bald, . . . 875 

Interregnum, .... 877 

Charles, the Fat, ... 880 

Arnold, 888 

Lewis IV 899 

Conrad 1 911 

Henry, the Fowler, . . 919 

Otho, the Great, ... 936 

Otho II. the Bloody, . . 973 

Otho III 903 

Henry II. the Lame, . . 1002 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



225 



A. C. 

Conrad II 1024 

Henry III 10^9 

lleiiry IV 1056 

Henry V 1106 

Lothaire II 1125 

Conrad III 1137 

Frederic I. Barbarossa, . 1152 

Henry VI 1190 

Philip, 1197 

Otho IV 120fJ 

Frederic II 1212 

Conrad IV 1250 

Rodolph of Hapsburg, . 1273 

Adolphus of Nassau, . . 1292 

Albert of Austria, . . . 1298 

Henry VII. of Luxemburg, 1309 

Lewis V 1314 

Charles IV 1347 

"VVenceslaus, .... 1378 

Robert, Count Palatine, 1400 

Sigisinund, 1411 

Albert II. of Austria, . 1438 

Frederic III 1440 

Maximilian 1 1493 

Charles V. ..... 1519 

Ferdinand 1 1556 

Maximilian II 1564 

Rodolph II 1576 

Mathias, 1612 

Ferdinand 11 1619 

Ferdinand III 1637 

Leopold, 1658 

Joseph 1 1705 

Charles VI 1711 

Charles VII 1742 

Francis L Duke of Lor- 
raine, 1745 

Joseph II 1765 

Leopold II 1790 

Francis II 1792 



596 
614 
614 
628 
638 

654 



A.C. 

Charibert, Gontran, Sigebert 
and Chilperic, . . . 562 

Clotaire II.Kingof Soissons, 584 

Thierry II. and Theodobert 
II. Kings of Paris, Burgun- 
dy and Austrasia, . . 

Clotaire II. aione, . . . 

Interregnum, .... 

Uagobert and Charibert, . 

Sigebert II. and Clovis II. 

Childeric II. King of Austra 
sia, 

Thierry III 679 

Pepin* Ileristel, Mayer of the 
Palace, governs France 24 
years, 690 

Clovis III 692 

Childebertlll 695 

Dagobert 111 711 

Charles* Martel, son of Pe- 
pin, Mayer of the Palace 
and Duke of France, gov- 
erns France about 26 
years, 714 

Cbilderic II 716 

IhierrylV 720 

Childeric III 742 



KINGS OF FRANCE. 
/. jyierovingian Race. 

Clovis, grandson of Mero- 
vius, 

Thierry, Childebert, Clodo- 
mir and Clotaire I. . . 

Clotaire alone, . . . . 



486 



II. CARLOVINGIAN RACE* 

Pepin, the Short, son of 

Charles Marte!, . . . 751 
Charlemagne and Carloraan, 768 
Lewis, the Gentle (Debon- 

naire,) 814 

Charles, the Bald, ... 840 
Lewis, the Stammerer, . 877 
Lewis III. and Carloman, 879 
Charles, the Gross, . . 884 

Eudes, 888 

Charles III. the Simple, . 898 
Robert, Usurper, ... 922 

iRodolph, 923 

Lewis IV. the Stranger, . 936 

Lothaire, 954 

Lewis V. the Lazy, . . 986 

* Pepin and his son were not styled 
kings, though they exercised supremo uu- 
lithority ; nof were they of the Merovia- 



559 S'^in race. 



3D 



226 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES, 



A.C. 
III. CAPETEAN RACE. 
Hugh Capet, Usurper, . 987 

Robert, 99G 

Henry 1 1031 

Philip I lOGU 

Lewis VI. the Gross, . . 1 108 

Lewis MI 1137 

Philip II. Aticfustus, . . 11 HO 
Lewis Vlll. the Lion, . 1223 
Lewis IX. St. Lewis, . 1226 
Philip 111. the Bold or Har- 

<iy, 

Philij) IV. thr Fair, . . 
Lewis X. Hutin, . 
John I. 8 (lays, 
Philip V. the Lone:, • • 
Charles IV. the Fair, 



A. 



I 



1271 

12.';:. 

1311 
13UJ 



131 
132 



IV. MOUSE OF VALOIS. 

Philip VI. of Valois . . 132}'. 

John 11. the Good, . . 13.')» 

Charles \'. the \Vive, . . 136 1 

Charles VI. the Beloved, 1330 

Charles VII the Victorious, 1422 

Henry VI. ot" Entjland, 

crowned at Paris, and 

j)artial]y acknowledged 

kin? of France, . . 1430 

Lcwis\Xl 1401 

Charles VI II 1483 

Lewis XII. Father of the 

People, 1498 

Francis 1. the Gentleman, 1515 

Henrj 11 154 

Francis 11 1559 

Charles IX. the Bloody, 1560 
Henry III 1574 



V. HOUSE OF BOURBON. 

Henry IV. the Great, . 1589 

Lewis XIII. the Just, . 1610 

Lewis XIV. the Great, . 1643 

Lewis XV 1715 

Lewis XVI 1774 

deposed, . . . 1792 

executed, . . . 1793 

Napoleon Bonaparte, Em- 
peror, 1804 

Lewis XVin 1814 



KINGS OF ENGLAND. 

Saxo7is. 

E^^bert, 827 

Flhelwolfand Ethelstan, . ;'.>8 

Kthflbald and Elhelbert, . :;57 

Elhelbert alone, . . . MiO 

Elhelred I ;;66 

Alfred, ;;71 

Edward, the Elder, . . :'01 

Lthe]>tan, '.>:., 

Edjiiund 1 941 

Edred, 946 

Kdwy, 955 

Edgar, 959 

Fdward 11. the Martyr, . 975 

Ethelrici II 978 

Edmund II. Ironside, . . lOlC 



Danes. 



Canute, .... 
Harold I. Ilarefoot, 
tlardicanute, . . 

Saxons. 



1017 
1(^35 
1039 



Edword III. tlic Confessor, 1041 
Harold 11 1066 

JSIo rmarw. 

William I. the Conqueror, 1066 
William II. Hufus, . . 1087 
Henry I. the Scholar, . 1100 

Stephen, 1135 

Matilda, or Maud, four 

months, 1141 

Stephen again, . . . 1141 



I. HOUSE OF PL ANT AGE- 
NET OR ANJOU. 

Henry II. Plantagenet, . 1154 
llichard I. the Lion-heart- 
ed, 1189 

Jolin, Lackland, . . . 1199 

Henry III 1216 

Kdward I. the English Jus- 
tinian, 1274 

Edward II 1307 

lldwaid III 1327 

Richard II 1377 



CimONOLOGICAL TABLES* 



227 



A. C. 
II. HOUSE OF L\NCASTKR, 

CALLED f HP: red ROSE. 
Henry IV. Duke of Lan- 
caster, ..... 1399 

Henry V 1413 

Henry VI ' "^" 



1422 



A. C. 
VI. HOUSE OF HANOVER. 

George 1 1714 

Gfor^^ell 1727 

•Jeorqe III 1760 

vJeorgc IV 1820 



III. HOUSE OF YORK, CALL- 
ED THE WHITE ROSE. 

Edward IV 1461 

Edward V 1 U53 

Richard III 1483 

Cnion of the two Roses, 14Jj5 



CZARS, OR EMPERORS 
AND EMPRESSES OF RUS- 
SI A, FROM PETER, THE 
GREAT. 

Peler I. Alcxiowitz, the 
Great and hvan V. , 1682 

Peter alone, .... 1696 

Catharine I. widow of Pe- 
ter, 

Peter II 



1725 
1727 
1730 
1740 



IV. HOUSE OF TUDOR. 

Henry VII. Tudor, . . 14';5 

Henry VIII 1509 

Edward VI. the Pious, . 15471 Anne Ivanovna 

Mary I. the Bloody, . . 1553 jwi-u or John VI. 

Elizabeth, 155B '-^I'^^-^l^e h Petrovna dau^h- 

' ter of Peter tlie Great, 1741 

Peter Ul 1762 

Catharine II. the Great, 1763 

I'aul, 1796 

Alexander, 1801 



V. HOUSE OF STUART. 
James I. Stuart, . . . 1603 
Charles 1 1625 



beheaded, 



1649 
1648 



Commonwealth, 

Oliver Cromwel, Protector 

of the Commonwealth, 1653 
RichM Cromwel, Protector 

of the Coairaonwcalth, 1658 

forced to resign, . 16&9 

Restoration of Monarchy, 1660 

Charles II 1660 

James II 1685 

deposed,* . . 1689 

William III. and Mary II. 1689 

William alone, . . . 169 4 

Anne, daughter of James II. 1702 

* AUliou^h the Parlinment, in off'Tinir 
the crown to Williinn 111. jiretcnded th;il 
James had abdicated thf yi)vernment, yft 
Hume, Smollett and Goldsrwilh are un- 
questionably correct in cnn«iderlng Jam 
OS haviiig been dcyostd. Ed. 



PRESIDENTS OF THE 

FED STATES. 
George Washington, . . 
lohn Adams, .... 
Thomas Jefferson, . . 
lames Madinon, 
James Monroe, . . • 



UNI. 

175^0 
1797 
1801 
1809 
1817 



VICE-PRESTDKy TR OF THE 
UNITED STATES. 



John Adam?, . . . . 


1789 


Thomas Jefferson, 


1797 


Aaron Burr, . . . 


. 1801 


George Clinton, . . 


. 1805 


Elbridge Gerry, . . 


. 1813 


Daniel D. Tompkins, 


. 1817 



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